Remembering Ziad, Saint Levant's contradictions and Disorder at Metropolis
The week has been intense in many ways, the news, the grief, the heat and the overwhelming plethora of cultural happenings taking place. As you decompress this weekend here are some politically charged cultural reads to put you in a reflective mood and help you take stock of it all.
Enjoy.
The son of musical royalty, Ziad was never just 'the son.' He was a provocateur, a playwright, a jazzman and a truth-teller. Joe Macaron lays out his complex intellectual identity and explains why his loss is so devastating on a national level.
He's Gen Z's pop heartthrob with catchy tunes, dreamy looks and a political edge that seemingly adds to the appeal. But how sincere is Saint Levant's activism? After 3,000 people turned out for his much-hyped show in Batroun last weekend, Rana Najjar digs a little deeper behind the sea of kuffiyehs, watermelon and red pepper motifs.
The latest of Jim Quilty's exhibition reviews is as thoughtful as ever; this time around, he's been to Vartan Avakian's show at Marfa' Projects. It is an interesting concept, where treasure maps and gold artefacts are used to trace the narrative of the Armenian genocide. Read his thoughts on the installation here.
It seems like another trip to Metropolis is in order — one of my favorite spots to disappear in of late. This time, I've been compelled by Zena Zalal's endorsement of 'Disorder' as 'essential viewing.' It's an anthology — made with the support of Philippe Jabre and the expert input of Nadine Labaki — of four short films that respond to Lebanon's crisis through different personal lenses. Read up before booking your tickets.
Finally, if you're looking for more ways to fill your weekend, be it in Beirut or Abu Dhabi, Doha or Amman, Marguerita runs through her top cultural picks from the MYM Agenda. Sign up to get her weekly round-up via email here.
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L'Orient-Le Jour
5 days ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Remembering Ziad, Saint Levant's contradictions and Disorder at Metropolis
Often, our cultural stories offer a sense of escape from the weight of the news and light relief from the misery of the doomscroll. But the truth is, art is almost always political. This week, Lebanon's cultural and political stories converged heartbreakingly as the country mourned the passing of the inimitable Ziad Rahbani. The week has been intense in many ways, the news, the grief, the heat and the overwhelming plethora of cultural happenings taking place. As you decompress this weekend here are some politically charged cultural reads to put you in a reflective mood and help you take stock of it all. Enjoy. The son of musical royalty, Ziad was never just 'the son.' He was a provocateur, a playwright, a jazzman and a truth-teller. Joe Macaron lays out his complex intellectual identity and explains why his loss is so devastating on a national level. He's Gen Z's pop heartthrob with catchy tunes, dreamy looks and a political edge that seemingly adds to the appeal. But how sincere is Saint Levant's activism? After 3,000 people turned out for his much-hyped show in Batroun last weekend, Rana Najjar digs a little deeper behind the sea of kuffiyehs, watermelon and red pepper motifs. The latest of Jim Quilty's exhibition reviews is as thoughtful as ever; this time around, he's been to Vartan Avakian's show at Marfa' Projects. It is an interesting concept, where treasure maps and gold artefacts are used to trace the narrative of the Armenian genocide. Read his thoughts on the installation here. It seems like another trip to Metropolis is in order — one of my favorite spots to disappear in of late. This time, I've been compelled by Zena Zalal's endorsement of 'Disorder' as 'essential viewing.' It's an anthology — made with the support of Philippe Jabre and the expert input of Nadine Labaki — of four short films that respond to Lebanon's crisis through different personal lenses. Read up before booking your tickets. Finally, if you're looking for more ways to fill your weekend, be it in Beirut or Abu Dhabi, Doha or Amman, Marguerita runs through her top cultural picks from the MYM Agenda. Sign up to get her weekly round-up via email here.
L'Orient-Le Jour
6 days ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
‘Disorder': Four Lebanese filmmakers on a nation in turmoil
A secret meeting of revolutionaries spirals into chaos. A young woman defies her mother's grip to join the October 2019 protests. A depressed psychologist faces financial ruin. And comedian Chaker Bou Abdallah, playing himself, dreams of a meteorite ending Lebanon's four short films — directed by Lucien Bourjeily, Bane Fakih, Wissam Charaf and Areej Mahmoud — make up Msha'lab (Disorder), screening at Metropolis Cinema in Beirut through Aug. anthology presents four distinct visions of a country unraveling, from the 2019 economic collapse and mass protests to the devastation of the 2020 Beirut port explosion. The thread tying them together: a search for what remains when a nation the question producer and curator Bechara Mouzannar wanted to explore when he launched the project in 2019, inspired by what...
L'Orient-Le Jour
29-07-2025
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Israeli army spokesperson pays tribute to Ziad Rahbani
BEIRUT — The day after the announcement of the death of the great Lebanese artist Ziad Rahbani, whose vision, innovation, criticism, irony, and genius have been praised since Saturday by the political and artistic worlds, new reactions have poured in on social media and in the media. Among these wide-ranging tributes, which have managed to bring together around one figure parties that seemed irreconcilable, one stands out as a discordant note: the tribute paid to the composer, musician, and playwright by the Arabic-speaking spokesperson of the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee. Rahbani was famously opposed to the Israeli occupation, even moving in leftist circles advocating for resistance against Israel. Hezbollah also paid tribute to him on Saturday, following in the footsteps of virtually all other parties on the Lebanese political spectrum. "Lebanon bids farewell to the great artist Ziad Rahbani, a phenomenon of free spirit in a country that has always been a prisoner of words and truth," Avichay Adraee wrote in Arabic on X. He paid tribute to the artist who "spoke the truth when everyone else was silent" and lamented the "loss of an icon" and "the voice of a free conscience, the pulse of the streets, and the mockery of an intellectual who was never afraid of the truth." Israel was his 'number one enemy' Under the post, hundreds of comments appeared, reminding the spokesperson that the late artist saw himself as a 'resistant' and that Israel was his 'number one enemy.' "Let's not forget Ziad Rahbani's famous statements about resisting Israel, which you're trying to brush aside," one user accused, denouncing an attempt to "get closer" to the Lebanese people by using a figure as unifying as the singer. Along with the message, the user posted a phrase said to have been spoken by the artist, stating that it is impossible to "build a state with Israel at the gates": "You cannot have freedom and justice while they make you choose between your security and your dignity," he allegedly added. This sentence, whose origin was not immediately clear, has been repeatedly cited on resistance-supporting accounts and social media to pay homage to Rahbani since Saturday morning. Witticisms that became 'popular proverbs' Moreover, other tributes have been paid to the late artist, notably from former president Michel Aoun, who spoke of the "painful loss of a creator who transformed our suffering into laughter, our bitter reality into a stage where the laughter of the Lebanese resounded in the face of the harsh truth. "Your language has entered the collective memory and has become popular proverbs valid through the ages," he added on X. Jack Lang, former French culture minister and current president of the Institute of the Arab World, recalled the "son of the legendary Fairouz," who "cast a tender and sharp gaze upon the world, blending satire, poetry, and disenchantment," and "gave voice to silences and music to anger."
