Out of Place

The exhibition “Out of Place – Artists From Lebanon in the Diaspora” brings together the works of artists from Australia, Canada, the Near East and Europe. The artists explore both the living conditions within the Diaspora and the subjective experiences of life in exile.

Using memories of the lost homeland of Lebanon as the starting point, they developed specific working methods for their installations, photographs, video works and paintings, in which questions of identity, dependency of place, and cultural and ethnic inscriptions play a central role. Against the backdrop of their own migratory-influenced biographies, they deal with general questions about a future cultural cohesion as well as the political developments in the 21st century. Their analyses are a result not only of their perspectives on their particular, concrete social environment, but also with regard to global changes, in which questions of cultural identity, migration and political practise play an increasingly greater role. Last but not least, the artists reflect on the different influences of life in the Diaspora with a specific focus on the state of artistic work.

Thursday, June 4, 20 hr

Lecture: "Lebanese in Australia: Past and Present"
by Prof. Dr. Paul Tabar, Sociologist, Director of Institute for Migration Studies, Lebanese American University, Beirut

Film programme:

—May 14, 20 hr
"BerlinBeirut" (2004) by Myrna Maakaron / "Kanya Ya Ma Kan, Beyrouth" (1995) by Jocelyne Saab
—May 26, 20 h: "Le(s)banese" (2008) by Alissar Gazal / "Being Osama" (2004) by Mahmoud Kaabour and Tim Schwab
—May 28, 20 h: "Introduction to the End of an Argument" (1990) by Jayce Salloum and Elia Suleiman
—June 11, 20 h: "Dunia" (2005) by Jocelyne Saab

With the kind support of: Deutsch-Arabische Freundschaftsgesellschaft and Arts Victoria