Two galleries in Lebanon have re-opened after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into force last month.
The first, Sfeir-Semler Gallery, closed two spaces in Beirut—located in Karantina in the north-east of the city and downtown—in September due to Israeli airstrikes.
A Sfeir-Semler spokesperson tells The Art Newspaper: “Both spaces are fully operational as of this week. We will extend Walid Raad’s show in the main Karantina space in order to allow visitors to actually see it and are planning an exhibition with Taysir Batniji opening in January in our downtown space. As long as we can work, we will continue to do so.”
In October, Andrée Sfeir-Semler, the founder of Sfeir-Semler Gallery, said: “There are bombardments every night, it’s really terrifying. It has never been this bad. In Lebanon, people are not free to look at art.” She added that the gallery was using its other space in Hamburg for storage.
Marfa’ Projects, a contemporary art gallery based in Beirut’s port district, has also re-opened. “We only closed for a month while we were at art fairs between 27 September and 25 October. I did not want to leave the gallery open while I was away in such times,” says Joumana Asseily, the gallery’s founder. “Since my return, following the fairs, on 25 October I reopened at reduced hours from Tuesday until Friday, despite the terrible events.”
Under a 13-point agreement between Israel and Lebanon, Hezbollah has been given 60 days to end its armed presence in southern Lebanon, while Israeli forces must withdraw from the area over the same period, according to the BBC. Since the ceasefire took effect on 27 November—both sides have accused each other of violating the truce in recent days.
