Lebanon Gallerist Navigates Ongoing Israeli Airstrikes
Joumana Asseily said she temporarily closed her gallery in Beirut amid evacuation orders last week
Amid Israel's bombardment of Lebanon, which has already displaced an estimated half a million people in the days since the US-led assault on Iran began, Joumana Asseily temporarily closed the doors of her Beirut gallery.
The gallerist founded Marfa' Projects in 2015 as a venue for regional art in the city's Port District. Five years later, thousands of tons of inappropriately stored ammonium nitrate exploded nearby, killing over 200 people. The impact of the blast damaged Marfa' Projects and several other galleries. At the time, Asseily told Hyperallergic that she would renovate and rebuild the space.
Last week, on March 5, Asseily closed the venue out of caution as Israel bombarded the suburbs south of the city.
"We were happy, we had people coming to see our show, et cetera, and then suddenly we saw all those [evacuation] messages," Asseily told Hyperallergic in a phone interview on March 6. "We had to close and run away basically." Asseily has since reopened the gallery and left Beirut for Paris on a pre-planned work trip.
Though Asseily's home and gallery are outside the affected areas, uncertainty befell the city last week as the Israeli military ordered evacuation from multiple neighborhoods, causing major traffic jams as residents fled. According to an Instagram post, Sfeir-Semler Gallery in downtown Beirut remains open.
Marfa' Projects is currently exhibiting works by Lebanese filmmaker Rania Stephan entitled Isn't It About Time. Ironically, the show explores theories of the end of the world in science fiction.
"It's very appropriate," Asseily said, describing Stephan's exhibition. "But it's also our story, and it's also our questions today that we're going through. It's so surreal.
While Asseily described the current reality as "incomprehensible," she said she remains motivated to continue her gallery in Lebanon.
"We don't wanna leave," Asseily said. "We work with artists from the region. There's so much to say. There's so much to show and so much to do. And you don't, just don't wanna stop. You can't stop."
