São Paulo – The Brazil-Lebanon Cultural Association will celebrate the 135th birthday of one of the most revered writer and painter of the Arab world, Gibran Khalil Gibran. The event’s opening ceremony will be at Teatro Sesi, on Paulista Avenue, 1313, 8:30 pm on June 12, with the screening of a 15-minute documentary on the artist’s career, plus a lecture by an expert in Gibran’s work, professor and philosopher Lúcia Helena Galvão from Brasília.
Between June and August, an exhibit of Gibran’s literary and artistic work will also take place, including his books in many languages and reproduction of his paintings (photo above) in enlarged photos, plus documents and personal letters. The exhibit will also feature photos from the Qadisha Valley, region of Bcharre, Lebanon, where Gibran lived. The valley was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The place was an inspiration for Giran and it still attracts tourists from all over the world.
The free exhibition will tour around the São Paulo subway system – República station from June 10 to 30, Paraíso station from July 10 to 31 and Luz station from August 10 to 31. The Espaço Cultural of Conjunto Nacional, on Paulista Avenue, will also host the exhibit between June 4 and 15.
The event has the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Gibran National Committee, the Gibran Museum, the São Paulo State Secretariat of Culture, Lebanon’s Ministry of Tourism and Brazilian bank Caixa Econômica Federal.
Caixa Econômica Federal will print a lottery ticket in tribute to the date and the event will be included in the São Paulo state cultural schedule.
Gibran
The multitalented artist was born in Lebanon on January 6, 1883, and worked as a philosopher, poet, essayist and novelist and was recognized as one of the most important writer and poet of the 20th century. His bestseller is “The Prophet,” from 1923, considered to be one of the world’s 100 most important literary works. Gibran passed away on April 10, 1931, in New York.
Quick info
Opening ceremony – Teatro Sesi
Avenida Paulista, 1313
June 12 – 8:30 pm
Free admission
Exhibit Khalil Gibran
Espaço Cultural of Conjunto Nacional – June 4 to 15 (Avenida Paulista, 2073)
São Paulo subway stations
República – June 10 to 30
Paraíso – July 10 to 31
Luz – August 10 to 31
Free admission
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
