The artist Elias Ayoub talks to Artscoops about his longstanding fascination with iconography and a belief in its power to take art to the next level.The reasons people leave their homeland vary greatly, ranging from a desire to further their education to wanting to see more of the world. Something that many expats agree on, however, is that...

The Lebanese-born, Zurich-based painter and classical musician Ribal Molaeb talks to Artscoops about harmonising his two beloved practices and the pros and cons of having a famous artist as a father     You’ve spoken about the influence that your musical education has had on your painting. Do you find music and art complement each other or do...

Showcasing an outstanding selection of international contemporary art against the awe-inspiring backdrop of the Great Pyramids of Giza, Forever Is Now once again uses creativity and rich history to connect the past to the present. Organiser Nadine Abdel Ghaffar, founder of Art D’Égypte, tells Artscoops what visitors can expect to find at the...

“Beirut and the Golden Sixties”, which forms part of the current Lyon Biennale, titled “Manifesto of Fragility”, might have past decades as its focus, but the pervading themes, which include resilience in the face of extreme hardship, are as relevant today as ever for Lebanon, as our interview with its team reveals.Copyright: 'Blaise Adilon'   ...

Gallery magazine, the quarterly publication dedicated to fine arts in Lebanon, recently announced the winners of its second Gallery Prize initiative. As the successful artists celebrated, Ramzi El Hafez, Gallery’s publisher and editor, talked to Artscoops about how the jury members arrived at their decisions and Lebanon’s ever-improving visual...

A launch event this month for OasisX, the region’s first creative NFT studio and marketplace, will highlight the key role that innovation can play in promoting inclusivity across the digital art scene and beyondOasisX’s founders, Najib Khanafer, Ramzi Mneimneh and Jimi IbrahimNon-fungible tokens (NFTs) are fast gaining a reputation as a major...

The curator and art writer Maie El-Hage discusses the ups and downs of putting on exhibitions through the pandemic and tells us what she’s learnt from the experienceMaie El-HageHer website can be found at https://arthistorianmaie.com/Photo by Rayan HajjWith galleries shuttered, exhibitions canceled and travel at a standstill, the difficulties...

With emotions laid bare, etched across their faces, the iconic darwichs of the Lebanese artist Raouf Rifai continue to tell the region’s tales of happiness, heartache and humourYou have described your work as reflecting society or humanity’s transition/evolution. What specific changes that you’ve captured in your art resonate with you most...

Through their Open Crate initiative, global art experts and entrepreneurs Amina Debbiche and Nora Mansour are ushering in a new era of documentation and valorisation for the region’s art and design.Amina Debbiche and Nora MansourThere’s something incredibly satisfying about buying a piece of art you’ve fallen in love with, hanging it on the wall...