Zad Moultaka in conversation with Gregory Buchakjian

The Sursock Museum presents a conversation between Zad Moultaka and Gregory Buchakjian.

Moultaka will explore his artistic language through his protean and singular oeuvre. Between extracts of musical and visual works, he will reveal to us his journey in unrelenting pursuit of a new poetic space.

Zad Moultaka (b. 1967, Lebanon) lives and works between Beirut and Paris. As a composer and visual artist, Moultaka has been exploring these two worlds for many years, seeking to harmonize musical and visual research. At the invitation of major festivals, he has created: Zàrani (2002), Nepsis (2005, based on a poem by Etel Adnan); La Scala del Cielo (2006); L’Autre Rive (2009); La Passion selon Marie (2012); Il Regno dell’Acqua (2013); Hummus (2014); and La Passion d’Adonis (based on texts by the exiled Syrian poet Adonis, 2015-2016). As a visual artist, Moultaka has regularly exhibited his work in Lebanon, Venice, and Paris, including at the Institut du Monde Arabe, and in the framework of Nuit Blanche. In 2017, Moultaka created ŠamaŠ, a monumental visual and sound installation for the Lebanese Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennial. The Sursock Museum will host ŠamaŠ in June 2018, prior to its exhibition in Finland, Norway, the UK, and Australia. In September 2018, Moultaka will present an in-situ work within the international trade fair in Tripoli, designed by Oscar Niemeyer. He is represented in Beirut by Galerie Janine Rubeiz.

Gregory Buchakjian (b. 1971) is an art historian and visual artist, Université Paris IV Sorbonne PhD, assistant professor at Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA). Buchakjian scrutinizes art and history in Lebanon. A photographic and archeological exploration of derelict buildings generated his dissertation: ‘Abandoned Dwellings in Beirut. Wars and Transformation of the Urban Space.’ Imagery and urban narratives are recurrent in his publications: Fouad Elkoury, Passing Time (Kaph Books) and Traversées Photographiques. Le journal du Docteur Cottard (Arab Image Foundation). Member of the advisory committee of the Saradar Collection, he took part in juries including Sursock Museum Salon d’Automne (2009), Boghossian Prize (2012), Beirut Art Center’s Exposure (2013) and Beirut Art Residency (2017).