Arts are not prioritized anywhere in the Arab world, and this neglect poses an existential threat to many institutions, which may be forced to shut down, leaving their employees without jobs as a result of the coronavirus lockdown and the economic crises.
While the entire Arab world is struggling, Lebanon is in a dire situation because of the chain of events that began with the eruption of the October 17 revolution, followed by economic and financial collapse and then the total paralysis imposed by the epidemic.
In response to the threat facing the field of arts, donors have begun announcing various forms of support and funding in an attempt to curtail the crisis. The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) and the Cultural Resource Fund (CRF) launched a Solidarity Fund to support arts and culture in Lebanon, the first initiative on which the two collaborate.
Around 800,000 dollars have been allocated to the fund, and as many as 16 institutions may benefit from it, with contributions capped at 80,000 dollars per institution. Support for the Solidarity Fund comes from funders of AFAC and CRF, including Open Society Foundations and the Ford Foundation. The deadline for application submissions, to be made through the institutions' websites, ends on June 15.
This funding is an existential assistance for cultural institutions to help them rethink their resources, goals, activities, and structure, and perhaps reconsider their role, or the possibility of cooperation with other institutions, to survive on the long term.
In other words, it is meant to help them avoid collapse after years of fruitful work. Concerns about cultural work in Lebanon did not begin with the outbreak of the epidemic but with the start of anti-government protests.
Discussions among the artists themselves are ongoing, as are discussions between them and the remaining financiers, especially since some of those who had been funding cultural activities in the past are now out of the picture. Like banks, for example, which are in crisis.
Rima Mesmar, Executive Director of the Arab Fund for Culture and Arts (AFAC), explains that “applications for the fund’s grant will be examined by a neutral committee, composed of three people with knowledge of the cultural and artistic contexts and corporate management. This particular grant is special in that it is not linked to a project, and most importantly, it will quickly reach its recipients, given the pressing need for it.”
Executive Director of the CRF Helena Nassif believes the main problem is that “there is no cultural welfare in the Arab region, nor is there a tradition of the rich transferring part of their property for the public service.”
“This is one of the reasons for the deep crisis of cultural life in Arab countries in general following the pandemic, which compelled us to find a solution to this massive shortage.”
Lebanon is not the only country struggling. Both foundations will also assist other Arab countries. AFAC will help around 150 artists from across the Arab world as individuals, providing each artist with 3,000 dollars over three to six months to allow them to complete a project that had been halting or start a new project. Beneficiaries are not obliged to submit results, though this would be well received.
CRF, on the other hand, plans to provide up to 5,000 dollars per person to support artists who have no health insurance, have lost their work, or whose projects have stopped and could be completed through this grant.
