Salon Discussions: Mayssa Fattouh

Curator Mayssa Fattouh (TandemWorks) presents her ongoing public art commissions in Nahr Beirut and Karantina park, raising questions on the function, perception, and potential of public art interventions in a city like Beirut, and on the contested subject of the artist’s role in society today.

This event is part of an ongoing series of informal discussions in the Salon Arabe, where artists and cultural practitioners are invited to present and debate ideas central to the making and curating of art. Evoking the 19th century Salon, where topics ranged from science, to literature and art, these discussions will focus on ideas shaping and influencing visual arts practice today.

Mayssa Fattouh is an independent curator and the artistic director of TandemWorks, which she cofounded along with Alia Fattouh. Her practice is informed by institutional critique, theories on the significance of art in life, and cultural resistance. Fattouh's writing has appeared in online and print magazines, including Ibraaz, Art Territories, and Fillip. Her latest curated exhibition on the work of Qatari artist Faraj Daham, Divergence, is currently on view at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art.