<div class="accordion"><div class="accordion-item"><div class="accordion-header"><span class="accordion-title">The Association</span> <img class="arrow" src="/aif_website/web/sites/default/files/expand_more.svg" alt="Expand" width="24" height="24"></div><div class="accordion-content"><p class="p-title">GOVERNANCE</p><p class="gov-desc">The Arab Image Foundation is a non-profit association registered in Beirut under the number 3275/2, established in 1997. The association consists of the team and a General Assembly which is composed of members from which the Board of Directors is elected.</p><p class="p-title">MEMBERS</p><ul class="members"><li class="members-li">Zeina Arida</li><li class="members-li">Issam Nassar</li><li class="members-li">Vartan Avakian</li><li class="members-li">Negar Azimi</li><li class="members-li">Lara Baladi</li><li class="members-li">Karl Bassil</li><li class="members-li">Donald Choubassi</li><li class="members-li">Yasmine Eid-Sabbagh</li><li class="members-li">Fabiola Hanna</li><li class="members-li">Tamara Sawaya</li><li class="members-li">Kristine Khouri</li><li class="members-li">Khaled Malas</li><li class="members-li">Sarah Morris</li></ul><p class="p-title">BOARD OF DIRECTORS</p><ul class="bod"><li class="bod-li">Vartan Avakian – Chair</li><li class="bod-li">Fabiola Hanna – Vice-chair</li><li class="bod-li">Hrair Sakissian – Secretary</li><li class="bod-li">Donald Choubassi – Treasurer</li><li class="bod-li">Yasmine Eid-Sabbagh – Member</li><li class="bod-li">Kristine Khouri – Member</li></ul><p class="p-title">TEAM</p><ul class="team"><li class="team-li">Rana Nasser Eddin – Director</li><li class="team-li">Cynthia Zeidan Abou Hassan – Operations Coordinator</li><li class="team-li">Rawan Mazeh – Lead Archivist</li><li class="team-li">Jana Khoury – Archivist</li><li class="team-li">Christopher Baaklini – Digital Assets Coordinator</li><li class="team-li">Asadour Garvanian – Digitisation Officer</li><li class="team-li">Malak Mroue – Research Coordinator</li><li class="team-li">Lydia Mardirian – Collections Researcher</li><li class="team-li">Ghina El Dabet – FrontEnd Developer</li></ul><p class="p-title">Previous Board Members</p><ul class="PreviousBod"><li class="PreviousBod-li">Samer Mohdad (1997-2002)</li><li class="PreviousBod-li">Fouad Elkoury (1997-2004)</li><li class="PreviousBod-li">Akram Zaatari (1997-2020)</li><li class="PreviousBod-li">Walid Raad (1997-2011)</li><li class="PreviousBod-li">Nigol Bezjian (1999-2020)</li><li class="PreviousBod-li">Lucien Samaha (1999-2011)</li><li class="PreviousBod-li">Moukhtar Kocache (1999-2002)</li><li class="PreviousBod-li">Yto Barrada (1999 -2015)</li><li class="PreviousBod-li">Jalal Toufic (2002-2003)</li><li class="PreviousBod-li">Jean-Pierre Zahar (2014-2023)</li><li class="PreviousBod-li">Cvmea Halim (2018-2020)</li></ul></div></div><div class="accordion-item"><div class="accordion-header"><span class="accordion-title">History</span> <img class="arrow" src="/aif_website/web/sites/default/files/expand_more.svg" alt="Expand" width="24" height="24"></div><div class="accordion-content"><p>Located in Beirut, Lebanon, the Arab Image Foundation (AIF) is an independent association that collects, preserves and researches photographs from South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA) and its diasporas. Established in 1997 by photographers, Fouad Elkoury and Samer Mohdad, and artist Akram Zaatari, the Foundation has been entrusted with approximately 500,000 photographic objects dating back to 1860 by anonymous, amateur and professional photographers. A way to trace one possible history of the Arab Image Foundation may be through considering the practice of collecting, alongside the various mission statements.Located in Beirut, Lebanon, The Arab Image Foundation (AIF) located in Beirut, Lebanon is an independent association that collects, preserves and researches photographs from South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA) and its diasporas. Established in 1997 by photographers, Fouad Elkoury and Samer Mohdad, and artist Akram Zaatari, the Foundation has been entrusted with approximately 500,000 photographic objects dating back to 1860 by anonymous, amateur and professional photographers. A way to trace one possible history of the Arab Image Foundation may be through considering the practice of collecting, alongside the various mission statements.</p><p>As detailed in the AIF’s first mission statement, written in 1997, the collection was conceived from a desire to protect, promote and disseminate ‘Arab photographic heritage.’ In this process, iconographies of different places within the ‘Arab’—what we now refer to as the SWANA— region would be located, and physically collected.</p><p class="p-title">1997 to 2000: collecting early photography through research missions</p><p>Commencing in 1997, the first research missions took place in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. Their focus was on collecting professional studio photography and amateur snapshots taken during al-Nahda al- Arabiyya, the Arab Renaissance, (late 19th–early 20th century), and the period just after. In the same year, within the framework of Une Saison Africaine organised by the Institut du Monde Arabe, research was also undertaken in Egypt and Morocco. The aim was to collect photographs produced by local photographers, from 1947 to 1967, which revealed how they documented their social sphere at a pivotal moment in history. However, instead of viewing these photographs exclusively through a historical lens, the researchers aimed to identify photographic trends and highlight what they termed in the 1997 project proposal, as hitherto unknown ‘artistic talents’. The next research trip to Iraq in 2000, provided a window into the photographic landscape of Baghdad and Mosul. The outcome of the initial research trips was the acquisition of 16,400 photographic prints and negatives taken between 1860 and 1960 by amateur and professional photographer,, that were to form 235 different photographic collections.</p><p class="p-title">Critical collecting and research practices</p><p>Crucially, the process of collecting and researching photographs was guided, and challenged, by discussions amongst the Foundation’s members. In the early years of the Foundation, members discussed the identity, objectives and purpose of the AIF, and the ways in which the photographs were or could be engaged with. While varied, these conversations often centered on research methods, archival structures, and modes of public engagement. More specifically, questions arose such as: If there was an attempt to recover and build knowledge and history via these photographs, would it be possible to therefore assume their veracity and referential validity?; How could such a history be told via thematic exhibitions and publications?; How could the Foundation provide tools for research? Was the AIF oriented more towards serving the artistic practices of its members, or more towards being a photographic resource for anyone to view and interact with? Was the AIF an artist project or an institution? And, in either case, how could the mechanisms and power of an archive be assessed and deconstructed? While answers to these questions were largely left unresolved, it was clarified by co-founder Akram Zaatari, during a general assembly meeting in 2000, that establishing the collection was not an attempt to define or neatly circumvent “Arab photography” – such a category, for him, did not exist. Rather, establishing a collection was inspired by an interest in how the craft/art was practiced, and spurred by an aim for knowledge to be produced on photographic practices from the region, and knowledge on the area to surface through photography. However, in the following years the geographical focus would expand to include different diasporas, and locations within the region that were not “Arab.”</p><p class="p-title">Early 2000s: extending to the diaspora</p><p>Research on Lebanese diasporic communities commenced in Senegal in 2002 and Mexico in 2003. In Dakar, AIF member Lara Baladi came across the photographs of professional photographer Youssef Safieddine. As Studio Safieddine had lost most of its photographic archive, the photographs collected were rather of Safieddine and his wife’s personal life during the 1960s. In Mexico City, AIF co-founder Fouad Elkoury looked for photographs by Mexican families of Lebanese origin. In addition to a selection of family photographs, he brought back Studio Yazbek’s photographic archive. 150 black and white negatives, dating from the 1940s to the 1950s, and 150 colour negatives of advertising material for brands such as Nestle, Coca Cola and Tecate, were donated to the AIF. In 2004, Negar Azimi undertook research in Iran. She located 21 collections of studio photographs, such as those of Tehran’s Studio Hollywood and Qom’s Studio Metropole.</p><p class="p-title">2009: expanding to modern photography</p><p>At this point in the AIF’s history, the collection was largely, if not solely, composed of photographs from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This would change in 2009 when the work of Lebanese photo-journalists Assad Jradi and Radwan Mattar was deposited at the AIF. Their photographic prints and negatives cover events and figures in Lebanese history from the 1960s to the 1990s, specifically, the years of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), and moments of daily life despite it. While Jradi captured wounded fighters in hospital with their weapons and various bombings, he also took photographs of fashion shows and football matches. Mattar’s collection consists of photographs of entertainment industry events, interspersed with images of civil unrest.</p><p class="p-title">2012: reaching out to the public and other institutions</p><p>After several mission statements written in close succession—in 1997, 2000 and 2002—the next would be written in 2012. This statement incorporated the activities of years past. It references the research on diasporic communities; notes the fourteen exhibitions that had been produced; describes the collection as dynamic, idiosyncratic and situated in social, economic, political and cultural contexts; and, states that the public can engage with the collection through the website and via various activities and workshops. It also, significantly mentions the opening of a space that would be accessible to the public. The establishment of such a space was frequently discussed—indeed, the very first mission statement mentions a centre for photography to be established in Lebanon and Switzerland, and in 2005 talks took place concerning a common space with Ashkal Alwan, Beirut DC and Zawaya. Finally, in 2012 the AIF moved to a new location that included a resource centre where visitors could conduct research. Located on the fourth floor of an apartment block in Gemmayze, the Arab Image Foundation’s premises housed a library, small study area, and the preservation, digitisation and research labs. The 2012 mission statement also expresses aspirations for the years to come: . These engaging the public in generating critical ideas on photography, artistic and archival practices and establishing a network of like-minded institutions.</p><p>From 2012 to 2018, the activities of the Arab Image Foundation involved digitising and documenting various photographic collections, developing a new website, and hosting various visits, residencies, internships and workshops in the Gemmayze office. As such, the next mission statement, written in 2018, shares many of the same ideas with the previous.</p><p class="p-title">Recent years: diversifying the collection</p><p>Amending and changing mission statements has been a consistent practice of the Arab Image Foundation. While the mission statement from 2018 is currently in use, we are working on revising it to better reflect our current interests and activities. In the past few years, for example, the AIF has been interested in pursuing what is absent within the collection, and indeed what has been made absent in History. As such, the collections that have most recently been entrusted to the AIF are Mohamad Abdouni’s Cold Cuts collection, a capsule photo-history of trans women in Beirut during the 1980s and 1990s; Aline Manoukian’s photographic negatives of Lebanon from 1983- 1989, Manoukian was having been one of the only woman photographers to document the Lebanese Civil War; and, Kurdish photographer Ramazan Zamdar’s glass-plate negatives of studio portraits from 1940s-1970s Kirkuk.</p><p class="p-title">2023: a new public space</p><p>Moreover, in 2023 the AIF moved to new premises in Kantari, in what could be described as a fulfillment of the aspiration to establish a public research centre in collaboration with other local cultural entities. Along with the preservation, digitisation and research labs, the Kantari space features a common library, that not only houses the AIF’s collection of books, but also those of Dawawine, Public Works, and Archive Books; an auditorium/screening room with equipment from the Cooperative of Cinema Professionals and Dawawine; and a public work/gathering space.</p><p>If you would like to know more about the Arab Image Foundation, you can find below readings and references that concern the AIF’s work, exhibitions and publications.</p><h1>AIF Mission Statements 1997-2018</h1><p><strong>1997&nbsp;</strong><br>Créée en 1996 à Beyrouth, la Fondation Arabe pour l’Image, en étroite collaboration avec le Musée de l’Élysée à Lausanne, a pour but la promotion de la culture photographique du Proche Orient et du Maghreb. Sa fonction spécifique est la sauvegarde, la connaissance et la diffusion du patrimoine photographique arabe. Une fondation sœur en Suisse prendra en charge la gestion technique de ce patrimoine. A terme la Fondation œuvrera pour la création d’un Centre photographique à Beyrouth. La Fondation est une association d’utilité publique à but non lucratif.</p><p><strong>2000&nbsp;</strong><br>Créée en 1997 à Beyrouth, la Fondation Arabe pour l’Image a pour but la promotion de la culture photographique du monde Arabe et du Maghreb. Sa fonction spécifique est la sauvegarde, la connaissance et la diffusion du patrimoine photographique arabe autant en Europe qu’au Proche-Orient: restauration et conservation des photographies, archivage par numérisation dans une base de données accessible au public, promotion de la photographie arabe à travers notamment l’organisation d’expositions et de diverses activités (publication de monographies sur des photographes arabes, production de films documentaires, production de CD-ROM et un site Internet). La collection de la FAI, qui regroupe les clichés de photographes professionnels, amateurs et même parfois anonymes, a déjà atteint plus de 50 000 photographies, négatifs et plaques négatives couvrant le Liban, la Syrie, la Jordanie, la Palestine, l’Egypte, l’Irak et la Maroc, entre 1860 et 1960. La Fondation sélectionne les images sur la base de critères artistiques, quel que soit le genre photographique, plasticien, documentaire, publicitaire ou autre.</p><p><strong>2002&nbsp;</strong><br>Collective of artists and critical theorists with an expanding archive of photographs from the Arab world and its diaspora. We seek to challenge ways of looking at and interpreting this archive, therefore making it accessible to the world, while challenging some existing norms of exhibition. Partly in reaction to the customary lack of awareness of history in Arab thought or culture, we as a collective as artists and critical theorists think it is critical to found/build an image archive while questioning (deconstructing) the problematic issues of what an archive is. Provide tools for researching Arab history through the photographic record. Questioning referential validity of an archive. Preservation. Educational forum for members and public.</p><p>These considerations ended up in the following modification of the AIF's mission statement: The Arab Image Foundation is a non-profit foundation that was established in Lebanon in 1997. The Foundation aims to promote photography in the Middle East and North Africa by locating, collecting, and preserving the region's photographic heritage. Our collections will be made available to the public at large in museum and gallery exhibitions and in published monographs. Material in the collections will date from the early-nineteenth century to the present. The long-term goal of the Foundation is the creation of a centre in Beirut for the preservation and exhibition of its photographic collections, for the study of Arab visual culture, and for the promotion of contemporary Arab cultural production and analysis. Introduction text in catalogues (i.e. Kunstenfestival).</p><p>The Arab Image Foundation (AIF) was established in Beirut in 1997 to locate, collect, preserve, interpret and present the photographic heritage and visual culture of the Middle East and North Africa from the early 19th century to the present. The research and acquisition of photographs started in 1997 and covered to date Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Iraq. The collections acquired from these countries include 50,000 photographs covering the time period between 1860 and 1970. The collection represents a rare document of the modernising Arab world and of the development of photographic practices in the region. The priorities of the Arab Image Foundation are to preserve this heritage and to ensure proper public access to the collection.</p><p>Shorter version of introduction text. The Arab Image Foundation has been active since 1997, collecting and promoting the photographic heritage (19th century - 1960’s) of the Middle East and North Africa. Through its diverse set of activities (videos, publications and exhibitions), it aims to encourage critical approaches to reading and interpreting photographs.”</p><p><strong>2012&nbsp;</strong><br>The Arab Image Foundation (AIF) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the collection, preservation and study of photography and other related visual material from the Middle East, North Africa and the Arab Diaspora. Established in Beirut in 1997, the foundation holds a collection of more than 400,000 photographs from the mid nineteenth century through today.</p><p>Since its inception, the AIF has produced fourteen exhibitions and seven publications in partnership with international museums, galleries and cultural institutions. The collection has also provided an invaluable resource for artists’ projects, curatorial initiatives and academic research. The contents of the AIF’s collection reflect both the general preservation mandate of the foundation and the specific research interests of its members. The artists, writers, filmmakers and historians affiliated with the AIF have, to date, initiated research projects in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, Iran, Mexico, Argentina and Senegal.</p><p>The result is a dynamic and at times idiosyncratic collection that does not merely illustrate the history of photography in the region but rather situates a wealth of different photographic practices in a complex field of social, economic, political and cultural factors. In addition to exhibitions and publications, the AIF presents its work to the public through a range of activities and platforms. These include a website, an online database, workshops on preserving photographs and a newly created research centre. The research centre is currently developing a reference library, a video library and a study area, in addition to residency programs for artists and scholars, a publications project and an active schedule of public events. By seeking the engagement of artists and scholars, encouraging public curiosity and establishing a network of like-minded institutions, the foundation hopes to generate critical thinking about photographic, artistic and archival practices, using the collection as a basis for research, reflection and the creation of new works, forms and ideas.</p><p><strong>2018&nbsp;</strong><br>The Arab Image Foundation is an independent association forging new pathways for photography and image practices. Uniquely positioned at the intersection of artistic creation, research, and archiving, we explore, question and confront the complex social and political realities of our times.</p><p>Our collection of over 500,000 photographic objects and documents from and related to the Middle East, North Africa and the Arab diaspora has been gradually assembled over the last 20 years by artists and researchers and through donations. With a critical and innovative approach, we collect, rethink, preserve, activate and understand these photographs through their multiple strata, and enrich the collection in the process.</p><p>The AIF looks to engage a broad regional and international community in experimental thought and practice that extends the photographic concept. We offer an inspiring and welcoming environment open to everyone: through our digital platform, our space in Beirut, and our projects and partnerships. Artists, researchers, students, cultural practitioners and the general public are warmly encouraged to learn, discover, create, and exchange ideas.</p></div></div><div class="accordion-item"><div class="accordion-header"><span class="accordion-title">Our Economic Reality</span> <img class="arrow" src="/aif_website/web/sites/default/files/expand_more.svg" alt="Expand" width="24" height="24"></div><div class="accordion-content"><p>Lebanon is on the verge of collapse, experiencing its worst economic and political crisis in recent history, with its currency free falling.</p><p>We are an association that cares for photographs. These photographs, at times intimate, other times historical, but always precious, have been entrusted to us. In Lebanon’s precarious climate , we have been left to invent tactics of self-sufficiency to ensure the survival of the photographs, and the wellbeing of our staff who are their custodians whilst also anticipating and preparing for future catastrophes.</p><p>Every crisis brings anxiety and destruction, but within destruction is the opportunity to rethink structures. Even prior to the crisis, we were aware of the limitations of existing funding models and had been in conversation with our funders to improve and stabilise our funding relations. However, the unprecedented magnitude of today’s crisis has accelerated these conversations. Specifically, we continuously need to rethink our use of ever-scarce electricity and water to ensure the sustainability of our work model; we have also had to rethink our public engagement work in order to maintain agility in the face of perpetual postponements due to being located in a country that is constantly on the verge of war and economic collapse. In order to navigate this reality, we now work in alliance with like-minded institutions, sharing resources and navigating programming together, and we try to convince our donors to commit to multi-year, unrestricted funds, to give us more security and stability in this challenging context.</p><p>At a time when many cultural institutions were closing due to the crisis, and with the limited resources we had, we decided to move to a location that would allow for shared spaces with our peers and be open to the public. We moved from Gemmayzeh to Kantari, a neighbourhood with schools, universities and a public garden, a neighbourhood where people still move around on foot. We wanted to ensure that we could provide an open space, believing that in such difficult times our space should be available to the public, to reflect and organise together, and share resources that are becoming scarcer.</p><p>To make this possible, we negotiated our lease with our neighbours Metro al-Madina, supported each other during the renovations, and continue to share the generator and solar electricity, as well as advice on various concerns. We also reached out to other institutions, such as Dawawine, the Co-operative for Cinema Professionals, Public Works, and Archive Books, to face the dire economic reality together. The result of this collaboration is an auditorium and a specialised common library for visual and performing arts, critical theory, history, feminism as well as urbanism and architecture. We feel that sharing, whether it be knowledge or available resources, is one way of developing ties with other cultural projects, collectives, and institutions. We encourage local community support: volunteering, helping care for the space and library and making small contributions, in-kind or monetary.&nbsp;<br>Click here to know how you can help us develop these collaborations.</p></div></div></div>