Photo : Revolution in Lebanon, October 17, 2019, Marwan Tahtah (Courtesy of the artist)

Lebanon Then and Now: Photography from 2006 to 2020 is an immersive 360° exhibit at the MEI Art Gallery featuring the works of 17 of Lebanon’s most exciting art and documentary photographers. Originally planned as a physical exhibit, Lebanon Then and Now has been reimagined as a virtual show in light of MEI’s temporary closure due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

Curated by Chantale Fahmi, the show's 50 powerful images capture the aftermath of Lebanon's long civil war (1975-1990), as well as the street protests that erupted on October 17, 2019 in response to the corruption and political mismanagement that triggered Lebanon’s financial collapse. The exhibit tells the story of the troubled calm that presaged Lebanon’s current storm and of the struggle for greater social justice and democracy that continues to this day in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The exhibit has been organized in collaboration with the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, the Beirut Museum of Art, USA (BeMA USA), the Beirut Center of Photography (BCP), and the Association for the Promotion and Exhibition of the Arts in Lebanon (APEAL).

Direct link to digital exhibition