Hammana Artist House Opening

Artistic evening on 12 August 2017

Hammana Artist House opens its doors to the world

“Hammana, that once inspired the French poet Alphonse de Lamartine, is now home to art and artists of all horizons and creed”
Dr. Robert Eid - Founder of Hammana Artist House

Under the patronage of Lebanese Minister of Culture Dr. Ghattas Khoury and in the presence of the Ambassador of France in Lebanon M. Bruno Foucher, the Municipality of Hammana, Dr. Robert Eid and Collectif Kahraba are pleased to announce the opening of Hammana Artist House. The event will be celebrated with an artistic evening on Saturday 12 August at 7.00pm in Hammana. As a multidisciplinary art residency space with a focus on performing arts, Hammana Artist House stands out in Lebanon and the region as a unique and promising cultural initiative by founder Dr. Robert Eid. Hammana Artist House is above all a space where local and international artists will have the chance to meet with the community of Hammana and the wider public and together experience quality art and culture. “Following the stone-laying ceremony of Hammana Artist House that took place in Summer 2016, the house underwent an extensive renovation and expansion process and now comprises spaces for rehearsals and artist hosting, a scenography workshop, an exhibition hall and an open air theatre”, explains Dr. Eid. Hammana Artist House proposes a year-round cultural and artistic programme under the artistic direction of Collectif Kahraba. And for the coming year, audiences are promised to meet more than a hundred local and international artists, experience more than thirty cultural events and most importantly be part of a community that believes, together with Collectif Kahraba, that art, culture and imagination can still change the world.

Programme of the evening
19.00 Welcome drinks at the garden of the Municipality of Hammana
20.00 Opening ceremony
21.00 Argentinian Tango concert by Juan Carlos Carrasco H Tango Group brought by CommProd
22.00 Jazz cocktail buffet - Arthur Satyan Jazz Quartet

The invitation is public

About Hammana Artist House

Located in the beautiful village of Hammana, 1200m above sea level and 40 minutes away from Beirut, Hammana Artist House is a multidisciplinary art residency space with a focus on performing arts. Founded in 2016 by D. Robert Eid in partnership with Collectif Kahraba, Hammana Artist House is above all a space for artistic development, a space to create and connect. HAH is open to local and international artists to deepen their artistic research, meet diverse audiences, develop their networks and reinforce their social engagement. Comprising spaces for rehearsals and artist hosting, a scenography workshop and an open air theatre, HAH proposes a year-round artistic programme under the artistic direction of Collectif Kahraba. More info: www.hah-lb.org

About Dr. Robert Eid- Founder

Robert left Lebanon shortly after the outbreak of the civil war in 1975 and has ever since been an expatriate on the move. He has lived in a number of countries - France, Kuwait, Argentina, United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia - and considers himself today a 'citizen of the world'. Following studies in Economics at the American University of Beirut, he obtained a PhD in Money & Banking from the University of Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris. He is currently the CEO & Managing Director of one of the largest Middle-Eastern banks. Hammana, his village on his mother's side, has a special place in his heart. This is indeed where, as a kid, he used to spend his summer time. In 2015, in a rather atypical initiative by a banker, he published a book entitled Hammana in the dialogue of Generations. In the words of Professor Antoine Messara, member of the Constitutional Council in Lebanon, “Robert Eid engages us in a new type of History, plunges us in the memory of society and inaugurates in Lebanon a historical and social anthropology bringing to the surface the profound malaise within the Lebanese political society". A firm commitment to culture as an integral part of collective memory has guided Robert today to give life to Hammana Artist House which, he hopes, will bring people and creative ideas together so as to contribute to a society of openness and tolerance.

About Collectif Kahraba - Founding partner and artistic director

Founded in 2007, Collectif Kahraba is a performing arts company comprising artists and art professionals from different walks of life who firmly believe that art is a pathway for dialogue. Thanks to a growing network of actors, writers, stage directors, photographers, puppeteers and dancers, brought together by the will to exchange tools and knowledge and to meet the audience, Collectif Kahraba poetically questions the world in which we evolve. Known for their many artistic productions that have toured locally and internationally, Collectif Kahraba founded “Us, the Moon & The Neighbours” in 2011, a free, multi-disciplinary festival, taking place in a popular neighborhood of Mar Mikhael. With four editions only, the festival managed to position itself as one of the most successful community driven festivals in Lebanon, creating space for local and international collaborations. With Hammana Artist House, Collectif Kahraba aim to perpetuate their unwavering commitment to developing a culture of peace, free expression and coexistence. More info: www.collectifkahraba.org

CONTACT For more information: Press / be:kult / [email protected] / +961 3 944126 Hammana Artist House / [email protected]