The international wave of support that followed the tragic Beirut explosion of August has not died out. In Venice, Italy, an NGO is organizing an event to raise money in support of the blast-damaged art and culture scene in the Lebanese capital.
In response to the damage that was caused by the Beirut Port explosion, particularly to the art spaces, such as studios and ateliers, a.topos Curatorial Collective Venice announced an online charity event.
The event, titled Alwan li Beirut (Colors for Beirut), is a raffle that will raise money to help the reconstruction of studios and cultural spaces that were heavily damaged by the explosion.
The price per ticket is £15 ($19.5), and part of the raised funds will go to Haven for Artists, a Beirut-based NGO that focuses on endorsing, encouraging, and exposing the modern underground scene in Lebanon and the Middle East.
The second beneficiary is the Lebanon Solidarity Fund, which launched after the explosion with the aim of supporting the affected arts community.
“By participating in the raffle, people help rebuild what used to be an incredibly vivid artistic and cultural life while having the possibility to earn an artwork from a Lebanese artist,” a.topos said in a press release.
The raffle, which aims to promote Lebanese talents in addition to raising funds to help the ongoing reconstruction efforts in Beirut, will involve 9 artworks by several Lebanese artists as prizes.
“If we cannot be on the ground to rebuild Beirut’s magic and its hurt artistic flair, we will be everywhere else.”
Alwan li Beirut is live and will end on Tuesday, December 1st.
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