Lebanon Returns to Venice Biennale with Danielle Arbid and Ayman Baalbaki

After a five-year absence, Lebanon will participate in the 2022 Venice Biennale with a national pavilion at the Arsenale. The Lebanese Visual Art Association (LVAA), under the patronage of the Lebanese Ministry of Culture, selected artists Danielle Arbid (born 1970, Beirut) and Ayman Baalbaki (born 1975, Beirut) to represent the country. Curator Nada Ghandour, appointed by the Ministry, described the project as a symbolic journey through contemporaneity via a theme, a city, and two artists who dialogue on political and aesthetic planes. Arbid, a filmmaker and video artist based in Paris since age 17, draws on Lebanese and French cultural intersections. Baalbaki, who studied at Lebanese University, EnsAD Paris, and Paris VIII University, focuses on Middle Eastern conflicts with emotional impact. The pavilion's exhibition design is by architect Aline Asmar d'Amman, founder of Culture in Architecture. The Biennale, titled "The Milk of Dreams," runs from April 23 to November 27, 2022, under artistic director Cecilia Alemani. Other participating countries include Singapore, Brazil, Netherlands, Oman, United States, Poland, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates.