SYRI ARTS, from top left clockwise: Ahmed Askalany's 'Donkey', fragments from: Chant Avedissian's 'Nezar Kabbani', Nermine Hammam's 'Dreamland II' and Nabile Nahas' Untitled. Part of exhibition and auction SYRI ARTS, 101 works of art for Syrian Refugee Children in Lebanon held at the Beirut Exhibition Centre
Works by numerous Arab artists are auctioned on 30 October at the Beirut Exhibition centre -- along with an accompanying online auction running from 21 October to 8 November -- aiming to raise funds in support of Syrian refugee children in Lebanon.
Titled 'SYRI-ARTS, 101 works of art for Syrian Refugee Children in Lebanon', the exhibition is curated by Kathy Battista, director of Contemporary Art at the Sotheby's Institute of Art NY.
According to the centre's official statement "the auction [of works donated by the artists] will raise funds to provide food, clothing, medication and schooling for the Syrian children, first victims of the war in Syria."
Although works by artists from Syria and Lebanon constitute the majority of the art on display, artists from around the Arab world -- Palestine, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt, to name but a few -- participate with a large number of paintings, conceptual photographs and sculptures.
Renowned Syrian political cartoonist Ali Ferzat, whose criticism of Bashar Al-Assad allegedly motivated a physical assault on the artist in 2011, displays a number of his cartoons.
From Egypt, Ahmed Askalany's 'Donkey' (2008) in polyester (46 cm x 78 cm x 22 cm) is one of the artist's works inspired by his native town of Naga Hammadi. Askalany's bronze sculpture titled 'Donkey with Driver' had in April 2012 garnered nearly $75000 at an auction in Christie's Dubai space.
Chant Avedissian's representation of Nezar Qabbani (2011), Syrian poet and diplomat, is one of the multitudes of works by the internationally-acclaimed artist whose paintings are displayed in various halls around the globe. In April 2013, Avedissian's 'Icons of the Nile' set an auction record for living Arab artists at Sotheby's Contemporary Art Sale Doha when it sold for over $1.5 million.
Nermine Hammam displays 'Dreamland II', a conceptual photograph from her 2011 Upekkha series created immediately after Egypt's January 2011 Revolution which earned her international attention. As the Upekkha series toured the world, London's Victoria and Albert Museum became one of the spaces exhibiting her works.
A number of viewers have already placed their bids on works displayed online by the Beirut Exhibition Centre through Paddle8, an online fine arts and collectibles auction house offering works by internationally-renowned artists.
Until the time of publishing (Wednesday 30 October), the highest bid was set on the acrylic work by Lebanese Nabil Nahas, Untitled (2013), reaching $65,000, against an estimate of $110,000.
To view all the works, visit Paddle8 here.
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