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Lebanese authorities refuse to renew prominent curator’s passport

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The Sharjah Art Foundation has named Christine Tohmé curator of Sharjah Biennial 13, which opens in March 2017. Tohmé founded the contemporary art nonprofit Ashkal Alwan, the Lebanese Association for Plastic Arts, which supports the development, creation, and dissemination of projects by artists based in Lebanon.
The Sharjah Art Foundation has named Christine Tohmé curator of Sharjah Biennial 13, which opens in March 2017. Tohmé founded the contemporary art nonprofit Ashkal Alwan, the Lebanese Association for Plastic Arts, which supports the development, creation, and dissemination of projects by artists based in Lebanon.

BY: Henri Neuendorf

Lebanese authorities have reportedly denied a passport renewal application from the influential Lebanese curator Christine Tohme.

According to Artinfo, an unspecified warrant has also been issued against Tohme, who is the founding director of the Lebanese Association for the Plastic Arts, Ashkal Alwan, and was appointed curator of the 2017 Sharjah Biennial.

According to a statement posted in Tohme’s name on Facebook by the Lebanese artist Tony Chakar, the curator accused her home country’s Directorate of General Security of withholding her travel documents on political grounds.

“Two days ago I applied to the Directorate of General Security for a passport renewal. When I went back to get my passport, I was informed that the renewal was suspended, due to a warrant issued against me,” the post explained.

“I have no doubt that this warrant is directly linked to the domain of my work, as a director of the Lebanese Association for the Plastic Arts, Ashkal Alwan,” she said. “As such, the significance of this action against me cannot be understated, as it affects the domain of other civic workers, as well as mine personally.”

According to ArtInfo, the move could be a reaction against the artist led anti-government “You Stink” protests staged in the Lebanese capital Beirut last year, and is allegedly part of a wider government crackdown on the Lebanese creative community.

Referring to Tohme, Chakar alleged in a separate post that: “She is not the only one […] but I will refrain from naming others until I know they want to be named.”

The curator believes the passport renewal denial was politically motivated. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The curator believes the denial of her passport renewal application was politically motivated. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

A report submitted to the UN by the free speech advocacy group PEN International concludes that“Lebanon is failing to abide by its international commitments to protect the artistic freedoms of its citizens.”

ART NET WORLDWIDE

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3 responses to “Lebanese authorities refuse to renew prominent curator’s passport”

  1. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    We can see that the ‘Directorate of General Security’ is concerned about protecting the ‘Plastic of Lebanon’, since they not only DO NOT recycle it, they want it to flow in the streets with all the other smelly stuff. Here’s an unabashed real female who dared to lock it up in ‘Art’; and since it’s Lebanese Art, the ‘Directorate of General Security’ seeks to give it the freedom it deserves … the Farmers who plow plastic in under the olive trees should also have their passports held, of course, for trying to hide it. Lebanon ‘Art’ is surely unique; and the odours of it’s previous contents is surely not to be dismissed so easily.
    The ‘Directorate of General Security’ wants everyone to know the plastic is secure.

    1. Y K Avatar
      Y K

      In that son of apes and pigs Jerry Seinfeld’s words, “It’s funny because it’s real.” Though also sad.

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