“Sursock Museum in Beirut Reopens After Restoration Following Port Explosion”

Visiting the Sursock Museum in Beirut has become available to everyone again, after it reopened its doors in the heart of the Ashrafieh neighborhood, which was directly affected by The explosion of the fourth of August 2020 Which shook the Lebanese capital and led to death 215 people and destroy other areas in the city.

Since the explosion, the museum has undergone restoration and rehabilitation operations, with Italian, French and Lebanese funding, and aid provided by some associations concerned with protecting and preserving heritage.

The restoration included the replacement of all windows, including the stained glass that characterizes the Sursock Museum, and all doors, elevators, and suspended ceilings were also repaired, in addition to the restoration of hand-carved wooden heritage decorations.

The museum is famous for its white facade, archways and decorative inscriptions, in addition to its yellow and orange windows, and contains a large collection of works of modern and contemporary art.

With its restoration, the museum restored its damaged art collection The explosion, including a painting (Consolation) by Paul Guiragossian and a portrait of Nicolas Sursock painted by Dutch-French artist Kees Van Dongen in 1939..

The museum also includes works by Lebanese artists, including the painters Georges Daoud Corm and Jean Khalifa, and the sculptor Salwa Raouda Choucair..

For their part, those in charge of the museum said that the rehabilitation was at a total cost of more than two million dollars.

The director of the Sursock Museum, Karina El-Helou, said that the reopening of the museum is a glimmer of hope for the cultural sector in Lebanon.

She added, “Our museum is one of the first museums specialized in modern art in the Arab region. Finally, we are pleased to continue our essential mission of supporting and encouraging the Lebanese and the region.”

As for Tariq Mitri, the head of the museum, he gave an explanation about the cultural edifice, recalling that the museum opened its doors for the first time in 1961, but its history was sporadic due to the special conditions of Lebanon, as it was closed several times during the civil war (1975 and 1990).then due to expansion, renovation and restoration operations, and more recently due to the port explosion in 2020.

And he said Tarek Mitri told Reuters, “This museum is a symbol of Beirut’s ability to restore clean air instead of the polluted air of explosion and crime. People love this museum, people love art, people love the building.” He added, “At first, we were hesitant because we believed that people’s homes and their return to life are more important than restoring the museum, but we were surprised by the amount of spontaneous aid. It became sufficient for us to work on the project when large Arab and international institutions provided us with generous support.”

One of the museum’s visitors expressed to Reuters her joy at opening the museum’s doors again, as Randa Farah said, “I used to get very angry when I passed by the museum and found it closed. Now it gives us hope to look and see again that culture is coming back from this museum, and always this cry from Lebanon to the whole world that Art and culture are stronger than everything, nothing can destroy them.”

France 24/Reuters