The Samir Kassir Foundation is once again, and against all odds, proud to launch the Beirut Spring Festival for 2021.

In the context of the multiple crises Lebanon is facing, crises which have not spared any sector, we believe it is more important than ever to keep on discussing culture and celebrating arts. 

In times of crises, culture must not be relegated but rather serve as a vector of recovery and inclusive development, as it remains one of Lebanon’s most important comparative advantages.

In partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, we are organizing this 13th edition of the Beirut Spring Festival as a means to bring together Lebanese cultural actors, to discuss and assess the shared struggles, ambitions, and vision for the cultural future of Lebanon, with international support and inspiration.

We will also host, virtually, international culture professionals and experts to hear different voices in the context of the importance of cultural strategies and policies to leverage the sector, bottom-up, in these challenging times.

This edition will also showcase Lebanese artists with short live performances. 

Join us live on the Beirut Spring Festival & the Friedrich Naumann Foundation Facebook pages on June 18 & 19 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

DETAILED PROGRAM

JUNE 18 – 6:00 pm

- A Canadian perspective on cultural policies, from the local to the federal level, the participatory process, and the leverage of culture in the process of reform, citizenship and economic inclusion with Keynote Speaker, Mr. Simon Brault (CA), Director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts and Chair of International Federation of Arts Council and Cultural Agencies 

- Live performance with The Oud Family - 5 musicians, conducted by Saad Saab, in a special creation for BSF 2021

- Panel kick-off: Olivier Py (FR) - Director of Festival d’Avignon: Insight on the cultural resilience in France among cultural actors during Covid-19.

- 1st panel: The impact of the multi-faceted crises on culture moderated by Antoine El Khoury Tawk with the participation of Myriam Nasr Shuman - Director of Agenda Culturel, Père Khalil Rahmé - Director of the Music School at Notre Dame University (NDU) and founder of the Organ Festival in Lebanon, Omar Abi Azar - Theater Director and founding member of Zoukak Theater Company, and Jana Al-Hassan - Advising Mentor and member of Tiro Association for Arts and the Lebanese National Theater

- A live opera performance with soprano Lara Jo Khadar and pianist Elias Chahoud

- 2nd panel: Turning policy ideas into action moderated by Noor Obeid with the participation of the three researchers who published the policy papers in the context of the project “Modernizing Cultural Policy-making in Lebanon”, a partnership between the Samir Kassir Foundation and the Friederich Naumann Foundation: Nicole Hamouche, Areej Abou Harb, Hicham Zeineiddine and the legal advisor Layal Sakr, co-founder of Seeds for Legal Initiatives.

- Short movie “Beirut in Black & White” by Marie Louise Elia – A production by Alba Academy - Balamand University

JUNE 19 – 6:00 pm

- Performance “Told by my mother” by the choreographer Ali Chahrour; an excerpt from his latest creation

- 3rd panel: Showcasing cultural policy initiatives by Lebanese cultural actors

- Panel kick-off with Robert Lacombe (FR), General Inspector of Cultural Affairs, French Government. Topic: How to support cultural policymakers in times of crisis?

- What has been done in terms of cultural policies and advocacy in Lebanon? What should be done and what is missing? Moderated by Joumana Haddad with the participation of Lamia Moubayed - Director of Institut des Finances Basil Fuleihan, Helena Nassif - Director of Al Mawred Al Thaqafy, and Ayman Mhanna, Excutive Director of the Samir Kassir Foundation.

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