Press

25 September 2020

Spring Will Come (MIDDLE EAST MONITOR)

Spring will come, but it's the grieving process that will dictate when. An interview by Naima Morelli given after the August 4th explosion in Lebanon.

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27 October 2017

Art Exhibit in Lebanon Takes on Civil War's Old Wounds (NEW YORK TIMES)

BEIRUT — Zena El Khalil's art exhibit has tapped into wounds that are more than 40 years old in war-scarred Lebanon. By The Associated Press.

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21 October 2017

Beirut's Museum of Memory Opens Despite Challenges (HARPERS BAZAAR ARABIA)

The museum, which sat empty for over a year, is holding its first 40-day exhibition, which the lead architect told The Art Newspaper is a milestone in and of itself. The exhibiting artist, Zena El Khalil, highlights “the missing” of Lebanon’s civil war – inaugurating the bullet-ridden four-storey Art Deco building, which was used as a sniper post during the 1975-1990 war.

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20 October 2017

When Does the Weekend Start (BLOOMBERG)

It doesn’t take much to threaten the delicate sectarian balance in a place where the scars of war loom large. By Rodney Jefferson and Donna Abu-Nasr

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5 October 2017

This Lebanese Artist Paints with the Ashes of the Civil War (FAST CO.DESIGN)

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29 September 2017

Beirut’s Art Scene is in the Midst of a Reawakening, Its Movers and Shakers Say (ARTNET NEWS)

The city’s cultural fabric has long drawn on a healthy artistic community living and working in, and invariably reflecting on, Beirut. By Arsalan Mohammad.

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28 September 2017

How does a city ravaged by war heal and recover? (TED FELLOWS BLOG)

Lebanese artist Zena el Khalil has transformed a historic Beirut building once commandeered for violence into a sanctuary for art, bearing witness, healing and forgiveness. By Karen Frances Eng.

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28 September 2017

Design Diary: Meditation for Peace (GULF NEWS)

A multidisciplinary artistic project focused on Beirut’s most iconic war-torn building, Beit Beirut, reflects on the will to transform the memory of violence into a catalyst for peace.

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27 September 2017

Healing Beit Beirut (THE DAILY STAR)

Healing Beit Beirut through Spiritual Art by Maghie Ghali

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24 September 2017

Promoting peace and reconciliation in Lebanon through art (THE ARAB WEEKLY LONDON)

What if her art could help bring recon- ciliation and peace to her violence- plagued country? By Samar Kadi

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22 September 2017

La Foire de Beyrouth revendique sa liberté de ton (LE MONDE)

Nombre de créateurs exposés sont installés au Liban, pays connu pour son ouverture, notamment politique. Par Roxana Azimi.

Quatorze ans plus tard, le bâtiment est désespérément vide. Mais, depuis le 17 septembre, une belle âme est venue se frotter au (mauvais) génie du lieu. Après un an de négociation avec les autorités municipales, l’artiste Zeina El Khalil a commencé à y mener des rituels de cicatrisation.

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20 September 2017

Sacred Catastrophe : Healing Lebanon (THE NATIONAL)

Zena El Khalil on how her exhibition at Lebanon’s first museum will lead to forgiveness, compassion and love by India Stoughton.

 

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20 September 2017

Peut-on continuer à vivre et pardonner 17 000 fois? (L'ORIENT LE JOUR)

C'est dans la maison jaune de Sodeco que Zena el-Khalil, artiste pluridisciplinaire, présente « Sacred Catastrophe : healing Lebanon »*, un parcours destiné à ébranler l'amnésie collective, catalyser la mémoire et inviter au pardon. Par Danny Mallat

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21 August 2017

Le feu et les mantras de Zena el Khalil (L'ORIENT LE JOUR)

Interview by Zéna Zalzal on upcoming exhibition Sacred Catastrophe : Healing Lebanon.

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5 June 2015

Social Media in the Era of ISIS (THE WORLD BANK)

This post, which explores the social media landscape in the Middle East, is part of a series related to the upcoming 2015 Milton Wolf Seminar on Media and Diplomacy: Triumphs and Tragedies: Media and Global Events in 2014, which took place in Vienna, Austria from April 19-21, 2015. The 2015 seminar was jointly organized by the Center for Global Communication Studies at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, the American Austrian Foundation, and the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.

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21 November 2014

INTERVIEW: TED BLOG

The house is a witness: A TED Fellow makes art from the rubble of her homes lost to war

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22 October 2012

REVIEW: PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Review of Beirut, I Love You. US edition.

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14 July 2012

TED PROFILE: ZENA EL KHALIL

artist + cultural activist

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28 February 2012

ZENA EL KHALIL: TED FELLOW

Lebanese interdisciplinary artist building bridges through glitter, faith and compassion. A blogger and publisher, she is also the author of Beirut, I Love You: A Memoir.

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2 October 2010

ARTICLE: THINGS ARE HAPPENING IN HAMRA (NEW YORK TIMES)

BEIRUT — Take one of Beirut’s battered 1970s Mercedes taxis through the city center and you’ll chance across plenty of gold-plated names these days.

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24 March 2009

INTERVIEW: RADIO 4 WOMEN'S HOUR - ZENA EL KHALIL (BBC)

Zena el Khalil was born in London of Lebanese parents and grew up in Nigeria. At 18 she decided to move to Beirut and in her first novel she recounts what life was like for her as a 20-something artist, environmental activist and blogger under the constant threat of war. During the July 2006 attacks on Lebanon she began writing a blog describing the daily Israeli bombardments, which received international acclaim. She joins Jane to discuss her continuing love of the city of Beirut.

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19 September 2008

ARTICLE: LEBANON: POP ART MEETS GUERRILLA WAR (LA TIMES)

She turns the black-and-white photo of a militiaman into a glittery iconic figure combining a pinkish haze of artificial flowers, pearl necklaces and rubber dolls...

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19 July 2006

ARTICLE: MY CITY, ON FIRE AGAIN (THE GUARDIAN)

As Israeli bombs rain down on Beirut, the people of the city are once again living with the horror of war. In an intimate diary, 30-year-old Lebanese artist Zena el-Khalil describes helping foreigners escape, the nightly rocket attacks - and how she couldn't leave her sick friend behind

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17 July 2006

ARTICLE: AT A CROSSROADS IN DOWNTOWN BEIRUT (ELECTRONICINTIFADA)

Today I drove through downtown on my way to visit my parents. I was driving alone and was a bit nervous. First time in a car alone since this whole thing started … But I had to see my parents. I came across a red light and stopped. The streets were empty, and I caught myself wondering why I stopped and didn’t just go through. Streets were totally empty - no other cars, no traffic police...

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This Lebanese Artist Paints With the Ashes of the Civil War (FAST CO.DESIGN)

“We never had real reconciliation after the war,” says Zena El Khalil. Her art, made in buildings hollowed out by fighting, attempts to heal. By Katharine Schwab

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