4 days ago
- Entertainment
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Lebanon's mini chess masters, Iraq's art pioneers and Belgium's Lebanese creatives
This week's picks all have the element of surprise in them — Lebanon's surprising chess prodigies, Iraqi artists that shook up the modern art scene, a twist on a love story told through four old photographs and a tour of Lebanon's hidden food gems.
With no firm plans for the weekend just yet, I'm tempted to take a cue from these stories and lean into the unexpected
Have a read.
Lebanon is witnessing a chess renaissance and the participants leading the charge may surprise you. Ten-year-old Skye Attieh and 8-year-old Jessica Kobeissy are two chess prodigies sweeping the international competitions and edging closer to becoming Lebanon's first grandmasters. Renee Davis introduces us to these remarkable young girls.
Reporting from Bard College campus in upstate New York, Sylvaine Zehil describes a new exhibition on the Baghdad Modern Art Group as a 'first in the United States and a revelation for the history of global modern art.' Who is the fascinating collective that shaped the modern art scene from the 50s through to the 70s? How did their 'interventionist' works intertwine with the politics and pressures of their time? Find out here.
The mighty force of the Lebanese diaspora never falters and in Ghent, Belgium, it's taken the form of 'Tashattot' — a collective born out of the fragmentation of a generation. In response to the dispersion of their generation, three Lebanese artists have carved out a space for uniting creative voices from the diaspora, encouraging 'dialogue, creation and resonance.' Lily Naim shares what they've been up to.
Georges Boustany tells us a love story through four archival photographs from 1935 Beirut. Or perhaps two stories? The protagonists are Yvonne and Edmond, a pair of lovers whose tale is part romance, part reconstruction and part projection. What do we see, what are we shown, what do we want to believe?
Finally, we take a trip to Koura, Lebanon. The latest stop on L'Orient Today's foodie trail this summer. There, Rayanne Tawil takes us to all the best-kept culinary secrets in town, letting us in on where to find homemade halloumi, generations-old bouza and the softest manakish in the region. And you can find more of our foodie finds here.
