Beirut and the Golden Sixties: manifesto of fragility | Sam Bardouil & Till Fellrath

Beirut and the Golden Sixties revisits a turbulent chapter in the development of modernism in Beirut beginning with the 1958 Lebanon crisis and ending with the 1975 outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War. Showcasing work by 39 artists, the book examines this romanticised era of global influence in Beirut to highlight how collisions between art, culture and polarised political ideologies turned the Beirut art scene into a microcosm for larger trans-regional tensions. As a city that is arguably in and of itself a manifesto of fragility, Beirut continues to evoke both vulnerability and determination – or at least traces of it – and conjure forms of resistance, called forth by the urgency of the moment and the desire to be remembered. Published to accompany the 2023 exhibition of the same title at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Beirut and the Golden Sixties features over 200 archival and artwork images, together with text by co-curators Sam Bardouil and Till Fellrath, providing compelling insights on the art and the period.