Open Walls: AUB Art Collection

SPRING 2024 (AUB Byblos Bank Art Gallery, Beirut)

April 17, 2024—

This exhibition puts on display artworks from the permanent collection of the American University of Beirut (AUB). It showcases some of its most valuable samples, arranging them in a manner that enables fragments of walls to also host artworks from other collections. As the title suggests, Open Walls brings to the forefront the idea of cooperation in the arts. In choosing this mode of display, our aim is to foster dialogue not only between different artistic epochs, styles, schools, and traditions but also among various generations of artists. We also seek to facilitate exchange and interaction between art institutions, foundations, and collectors from Lebanon and the region.

The AUB permanent collection is the result of several directed efforts, entertained by individuals and interest groups, across several generations. The first known attempts to establish an art collection at AUB came in the early 1970s. A few faculty members and students of the art fine department opened an art gallery in front of AUB president’s office. During the 1974 student protests, some of the initial paintings from the permament collection were damaged by students who occupied College Hall to express their opposition to the raised tuition fees. Subsequently, the Lebanese Civil War hindered attempts to further expand the collection. The second series of efforts to grow the collection came in 2011, when Dr. Samir Saleeby donated a number of paintings by early Lebanese artists, including Khalil Saleeby (1870–1928), Saliba Douaihy (1915–1994), Omar Onsi (1901–1969), Moustapha Farroukh (1901–1957), and César Gemayel (1898–1958). The AUB collection comprises works by some major names in Arab art, although not all styles, epochs, schools or movements are represented.

It is for this reason that we have opted for the current mode of display. As the title of this exhibition suggests, we are embracing a format that acknowledges the gaps and lacunas in what one might envision as the ideal and most representative collection of art from the Arab world. Even without the belief that achieving a fully comprehensive collection is possible, the attempt is worth the creative effort. We adopt the “open walls” method—commonly used in agriculture, to allow plants to extend and grow along a support structure—as our main approach.

The Open Walls exhibition aims to foster the cultivation of knowledge about art by filling in “gaps” and enabling a more comprehensive and flexible representation of the art historical narrative through an ever-changing open walls setup. Artworks from various collections or ages are invited to be exhibited in close proximity to AUB's permanent collection. With the colors or codes of display of these open walls changing each time to accommodate pieces from different collectors, we aim to offer new perspectives and interpretations on Arab art, while also illuminating the historical, current, and aspirational roles of AUB in advancing knowledge about art and culture from the region. Most importantly, we would like to draw attention to the imperative need for dialogue and collaboration between AUB and other local, regional, and global cultural institutions, collections, artists, and foundations.

Octavian Esanu

Participants in Open Walls Exibition

The Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Art Foundation (DAF)
Agial Art Gallery
Hussein Madi Foundation