Christine Tohme. Photo by Gilbert Hage, 2015
IBA Conversations: Biennials for the Local Audience
June 25, 2021
12:00pm – 1:30pm (London)
After five months of discussions and presentations of projects across the world we want to conclude this first IBA Conversations program by focusing on the immediate surrounding of biennials, on the communities which share their spaces and histories with our events. By inviting Christine Tohme we hope to spark a complex debate on the role art institutions can have in supporting local communities that goes far beyond more traditional outreach programs. Her long term experience in working in Beirut with Ashkal Alwan which she founded twenty eight years ago and continues to be a reference in the whole region, but also through her social engagement through other initiatives we hope will generate a discussion able to challenge the ways in which biennial territorial presence is perceived and structured.
Christine Tohme is the Founding Director of Ashkal Alwan, the Lebanese Association for Plastic Arts, established in Beirut in 1993. Ashkal Alwan is a non-profit organisation that supports contemporary artistic and cultural practices through numerous initiatives. Tohme curated Sharjah Biennial 13: Tamawuj (2017). She is on the boards of Marsa, a sexual health centre in Beirut that provides specialised medical services for at-risk youth and marginalised communities, and Afterall: A Journal of Art, Context and Enquiry. She has received the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture (2018); CCS Bard Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence (2015) and a Prince Claus Award (2006), given in recognition of her achievements in supporting local art production and criticism. Tohme was born in Beirut, where she continues to live and work.
We hope to see you numerous and interested on June 25th at 12pm London time!
Those who are interested in joining are asked to register here.
In order for a genuine and frank discussion to take place and due to the sensitivity of some of the subjects to be covered, these events will have limited availability with priority to be given to current members of IBA and those who are interested in joining.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@biennialassociation.org.
