In response to the common challenges facing independent cultural work in the Arab region, Culture Resource invited managers and cultural actors from 9 arts & culture organizations from the Arab region that had benefited from the support of the Abbara program to a consultative meeting from 27 to 29 January 2023 at the Hammana Artist House in Lebanon. Seven organizations attended the meeting to collaborate in the design of a pilot program that aims to develop forms of cooperation and networking between cultural and artistic organizations, and help build an integrated and productive cultural environment in the Arab region. The meeting was facilitated by Faten Farhat (Palestine), director, cultural advisor and member of Culture Resource’s artistic board.
After discussing the priorities of joint cultural work in the region, the Abbara alumni decided to adopt the lab format for their work. They felt it was more conducive to dialogue, experimentation and peer-to-peer learning as they will explore new models and structures for cooperation that serve the sustainability of arts & culture organizations in the region. Towards the end of the meeting, the participants agreed on the next steps and subsequent online meetings to be held in 2023.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the Abbara alumni attended a theatrical performance by Hashem Hashem called “I Am the Same, Yet So Different.” They also visited the “Allo, Beirut?” exhibition and were given a personal tour by the artist Petra Serhal who participated in the exhibition with her installation performance, “If You Wish to See Me Dancing, You Ought to Visit the Passing Cloud,” which was produced with support from Culture Resource in the framework of the Exceptional Grants Program 2020.
