São Paulo – Registration is open for an art prize themed on the International Fair Rachid Karami, also known as the Tripoli Fair, designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and located in Lebanon (pictured above). The prize will be USD 1,000 for each of the three winning works, which can be photographs, illustrations, etchings or other techniques presented in digital format. Registration is open until October 29.
The Embassy of Brazil and the Guimarães Rosa Institute in Beirut promote the competition in the context of the fair’s recent enlisting as a World Heritage and World Heritage in Danger by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Guimarães Rosa Institute is the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs branch for cultural diplomacy.
The fair is an architectural complex on a 70-hectare plot of land, with space for exhibitions and other activities. It is known as one of the works representative of 20th-century modern architecture in the Arab Middle East. The main building is a large, boomerang-shaped covered exhibition hall. The complex was part of the modernization of Lebanon in 1960.
To participate in the “Tripoli Fair: The Way I See It” art prize, artists must submit original and previously unreleased works. Lebanese citizens living in Lebanon or abroad and non-Lebanese citizens residing in Lebanon are eligible to participate. Participants must be between 18 and 35 years old. Registration is free and online through a form provided by the organization. Each artist can submit up to five works.
The criteria for evaluation of artworks will be creativity, technical quality, and adherence to the theme. A jury of artists, experts and representatives of relevant Lebanese art institutions will choose the winning works. The shortlisted works will be announced on the organizers’ networks and printed for an exhibition in December.
The organizers informed that the award aims to raise awareness among the population about the Tripoli Fair and the need to preserve it, disseminate the work of Oscar Niemeyer and modernist architecture in Lebanon, and provoke a reflection on the role of the fair in the Lebanese context currently and in the future. This is the second cultural project sponsored by the Embassy of Brazil in Beirut in 2023 promoting the heritage of modern Brazilian architecture in Lebanon.
Check out the rules (in English) and the registration form here.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
