Street painting promotes peace in Lebanon's Tripoli

Record ID: 102189

  • Title: Street painting promotes peace in Lebanon's Tripoli
  • Date: 24th May 2016
  • Summary: TRIPOLI, LEBANON (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ARTISTS PAINTING OUTSIDE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FOUNDER OF UTOPIA, CHADI NACHABE, SAYING: "We are attracting artists in order to work with them in different areas in Tripoli, to show that Tripoli is still the city of arts, a civilized city that cares about culture. This activity is not a one time thing, but part of the 22 rounds, like the number of fighting rounds that occurred here, we will be in a different area each time. This art is part of a series of activities that we are working on to show and improve the image of the city of Tripoli." VARIOUS OF ARTIST, SANAA EL TOM, PAINTING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ARTIST, SANAA EL TOM, SAYING: "The city is being more active, we are expressing our pain and all the darkness that has happened. We are trying to make it whiter, a good environment. We thank Utopia, the organisation that sponsored and launched this event, and gave artists a chance to get involved and express the pain that he passed through this city." VARIOUS OF ARTIST PAINTING ON CANVAS (SOUNDBITE) ARTIST, IMRAN YASIN, SAYING: "The majority of people were really happy because they saw a good activity that they were not used to, a lot of them liked that idea a lot, they stood with us and offered their help." ARTISTS PAINTING OUTSIDE VARIOUS OF ARTIST PAINTING CANVAS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DIRECTOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR ARTS, ANWAR KHANJI, SAYING: "They are drawing on the most important and famous street in Tripoli named Azmi Street in order to express how they see Lebanon, with a slight touch of optimism. We hope that the situation gets resolved in our surrounding countries, from Syria to Iraq to Egypt." VARIOUS OF ARTISTS PAINTING OUTSIDE
  • Embargoed: 8th June 2016 10:44
  • Keywords: Tripoli Lebanon art painting Utopia International Center for Arts
  • Location: TRIPOLI, LEBANON
  • City: TRIPOLI, LEBANON
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA0014J600GL
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli is hoping to improving its image, with a local NGO inviting artists to paint outside on the streets.
    Lebanese NGO Utopia is launching several rounds of painting sessions across the city as part of a programme to promote peace.
    Tripoli witnessed deadly fighting in 2014 when violence spilled over into the country from the Syrian civil war.
    According to Utopia, there were 22 rounds of fighting in Tripoli between 2011 and 2015 - a figure they are using in their painting programme.
    "We are attracting artists in order to work with them in different areas in Tripoli, to show that Tripoli is still the city of arts, a civilized city that cares about culture. This activity is not a one time thing, but part of the 22 rounds, like the number of fighting rounds that occurred here, we will be in a different area each time. This art is part of a series of activities that we are working on to show and improve the image of the city of Tripoli," said Utopia's founder Chadi Nachabe.
    Working on a canvas set up on the pavement, Tripoli resident and artist Sanaa el Tom said that she was happy to share her experiences through her work.
    "The city is being more active, we are expressing our pain and all the darkness that has happened. We are trying to make it whiter, a good environment. We thank Utopia, the organisation that sponsored and launched this event, and gave artists a chance to get involved and express the pain that he passed through this city," she said.
    Artists were painting in Azmi Street, one of the areas where fighting took place.
    "They are drawing on the most important and famous street in Tripoli named Azmi Street in order to express how they see Lebanon, with a slight touch of optimism. We hope that the situation gets resolved in our surrounding countries, from Syria to Iraq to Egypt," said Anwar Khanji, director of the International Centre for Arts in Lebanon.
    The divisions in Tripoli, 20 miles from the Syrian border, reflect the sectarian gulf across Lebanon over Syria's civil war.
    Sunni Muslims have crossed the border to fight alongside rebels against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah militia have helped Assad.
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