The Sursock Museum, which was heavily damaged by the Beirut blast, has partially reopened and its activities resumed on site. Courtesy Sursock Museum
The Sursock Museum, which was heavily damaged by the Beirut blast, has partially reopened and its activities resumed on site. Courtesy Sursock Museum
The Sursock Museum, which was heavily damaged by the Beirut blast, has partially reopened and its activities resumed on site. Courtesy Sursock Museum
The Sursock Museum, which was heavily damaged by the Beirut blast, has partially reopened and its activities resumed on site. Courtesy Sursock Museum

Beirut's Sursock Museum director on city's appetite for culture a year after Lebanon blast


Lemma Shehadi
  • English
  • Arabic

Beirut’s largest and oldest independent cultural institution, the Sursock Museum, sustained enormous damage to its premises and collections during the blast. Entire parts of the 19th-century townhouse were reduced to rubble and 30 artworks that were on display at the time were damaged.

Today, as the museum begins to partially reopen, it faces questions about its role as a cultural institution in times of crisis. “We have an important role to play as a museum, and we have always tackled important topics. But the past two years have forced us to rethink our programme,” says director Zeina Arida, referring to the combined effects of Lebanon’s economic crisis, the pandemic and the port explosion.

Listen to the latest podcast on the Beirut blast here.

“We have to make sure our programme stays relevant to the current situation,” she says. “We don’t want to project the image that the art sector is in la-la land.”

Zeina Arida with guests during the opening of the Pablo Picasso show at Sursock Museum in September 2019. Zeina Arida
Zeina Arida with guests during the opening of the Pablo Picasso show at Sursock Museum in September 2019. Zeina Arida

Yet taking a new direction remains a sensitive issue. “There are so many things to take into consideration. First, the changes happening to our society in Lebanon, and then the global changes issued by the pandemic. Social divisions have increased in Lebanon and globally. And our financial possibilities as a museum have been reduced.”

Nevertheless the museum has made steady progress with its recovery. The first stage of reconstruction, paid for by the international heritage fund Aliph Foundation and the French Ministry of Culture, is nearing completion. Most of the damaged graphic works on paper have been restored, and the storage rooms have been cleared of dust deposits from the blast. “The dusting alone took three months,” Arida says.

An image of Sursock Museum following its destruction by the Beirut blast last year. Bassam Lahoud
An image of Sursock Museum following its destruction by the Beirut blast last year. Bassam Lahoud

She is preparing to send three damaged artworks to the Centre Pompidou in Paris for restoration. Among these is a portrait of the museum’s founder, Nicolas Sursock, by Dutch-French artist Kees van Dongen.

Activities have resumed on the esplanade. In May, the museum collaborated with performing arts festival Bipod to live-stream a series of acts, including Alexandre Paulikevitch and his A’alehom, an experimental dance focused on the current crisis. In July, Unesco’s three-day Terdad festival included several film screenings, workshops and performances at the museum.

Arida hopes Sursock can fully reopen next spring, and an exhibition in collaboration with the Dalloul Art Foundation is in the pipeline.

An image of Sursock Museum's interior before it was destroyed by the Beirut blast. Ferrante Ferranti
An image of Sursock Museum's interior before it was destroyed by the Beirut blast. Ferrante Ferranti

But simply reopening is not enough, she says. A change of direction is also incoming. “We need to include less visible communities and minorities – like refugees or migrant workers – in our programming, by working with a specific community or non-profit to design a programme and project.”

Another challenge will be growing the museum’s audience. “We always say that the museum is open to everyone, but of course not all of the Lebanese come,” she says. “Some people find it awkward to be in an art museum, and we need to adapt to them.”

We have an important role to play as a museum, and we have always tackled important topics. But the past two years have forced us to rethink our programme
Zeina Arida,
director of Sursock Museum

While it tries to appeal to a wider audience, Sursock will continue to serve as a platform for Beirut’s artistic community to discuss the current crisis and possible steps forward. “The museum has always been a platform for collaborations with artists and the local community, but we need to do it even more than before."

The departure of the city’s typical museum-goer adds urgency to this task. “Our sector is a small representation of the country and its state. So many people have left, including intellectuals, artists, writers, collectors."

For Arida, maintaining a lively cultural sector is essential to Beirut’s identity. “It’s a cosmopolitan city where a lot of people from Europe and the Middle East come and meet. Artists and intellectuals from other Arab countries sought the freedom of expression that was available in Lebanon,” she says. “This mix of people, the artists, our history, created the energy that’s in the city.”

Its contemporary artistic identity, she says, flourished from an earlier crisis: the Lebanese Civil War. “The post-war period was so important for Beirut, artistically. There was a whole generation of artists and writers working on similar recent history. Lebanese artists became more visible in important museums around the world.”

But today, this climate of artistic exchange and openness is at stake. “It will depend on what happens politically – will we still be able to have freedom of expression? And it depends on the opportunities for artists in Lebanon.”

Ain Dubai in numbers

126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure

1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch

16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.

9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.

5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place

192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.

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Profile

Company name: Spare

Started: March 2018

Co-founders: Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah

Based: UAE

Sector: FinTech

Investment: Own savings. Going for first round of fund-raising in March 2019

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Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Rating: 4.5/5

What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women & the Food That Tells Their Stories
Laura Shapiro
Fourth Estate

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Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Prop idols

Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.

Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)

An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.

----

Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)

Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.

----

Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)

Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.

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Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

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In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi

  

 

 

 

Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.

 
The alternatives

• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.

• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.

• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.

2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.

• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases -  but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

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Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
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Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

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Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
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  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Cofe

Year started: 2018

Based: UAE

Employees: 80-100

Amount raised: $13m

Investors: KISP ventures, Cedar Mundi, Towell Holding International, Takamul Capital, Dividend Gate Capital, Nizar AlNusif Sons Holding, Arab Investment Company and Al Imtiaz Investment Group 

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Updated: March 28, 2023, 1:34 PM`