Sursock Museum
Modern and contemporary art museum in Beirut, Lebanon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Sursock Museum (Arabic: قصر سرسق), officially known as the Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock Museum, is a modern and contemporary art museum in Beirut, Lebanon.
قصر سرسق | |
The Sursock Museum in Beirut | |
 | |
| Established | 1961 |
|---|---|
| Location | Beirut, Lebanon |
| Coordinates | 33°53′34.59″N 35°30′58.42″E |
| Type | Modern art and contemporary art |
| Website | sursock |
History
In 1912, the Lebanese aristocrat Nicolas Ibrahim Sursock built the private villa that now houses the museum. He decreed in his will that the villa be transformed into a museum.[1] When he died in 1952, he bequeathed the villa to the city of Beirut.[2] Between 1953 and 1957, President Camille Chamoun transformed the villa into a palais des hôtes—a presidential guesthouse designated to accommodate visiting heads of state, including the Shah of Iran and King Faisal of Iraq.[3]
The museum opened in 1961, directed by Amine Beyhum, with an exhibit of works of contemporary Lebanese artists, setting a precedent for cultural events in Beirut.[4]
.jpg)
The Sursock Museum building exemplifies Lebanese architecture, with its Italianate (specifically Venetian) and Ottoman architectural influences.[2] It is one of the few remaining villas from its epoch in Beirut. It is located in the Rue Sursock in the Rmeil district of Beirut.
More than a hundred exhibitions have been held at the museum, including displays of works by Lebanese and international artists. The museum's permanent collection includes modern art, Japanese engravings and Islamic art.[5] The museum collection consists of over 800 artworks, including paintings, sculptures and graphic arts from the 19th and 20th centuries.[6]
On 4 August 2020, the museum sustained significant damage and some of its artworks were destroyed as a result of a catastrophic ammonium nitrate explosion.[7]
The museum was restored thanks to various donors among them the Italian government with a donation of one million euro in May 2021.[8] It finally reopened on 26 May 2023.[9] During the 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, UNESCO gave enhanced protection to 34 cultural sites in Lebanon including the museum to safeguard it from damage.[10][11]
Expansion
The museum was expanded with four new underground floors beneath the current garden, at a cost of US$12 million.[6] French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte and Lebanese architect Jacques Abou Khaled designed the expansion project.[12]
The project increased the museum's area from 1,500 square meters to 8,500 square meters and opened additional exhibition spaces, a research library, an auditorium, a restoration workshop, new storage spaces for the collection, as well as a store and restaurant.[13] The museum reopened on 8 October 2015.
Collection
The following is a list of Lebanese and international artists whose works are in the museum's permanent collection:
Exhibition history
- Hommage à Jean Khalife, 1993[14]
- Omar Onsi Rétrospective, 1997 [15]
- Georges Schehadé : poète des deux rives, 1905-1989, 1999[16]
- Max Ernst, 2000[17]
- Sergei Parajanov, collages and drawings, 2000[18]
- Moustafa Farroukh Rétrospective, 2003 [19]
- Regards sur Beyrouth, 160 ans d'images, 2015 [20]
- Danielle Genadry, The Fall, 2016 [21]
- Assadour, landscape in Motion, 2016 [22]
- Ali Cherri. A Taxonomy of Fallacies: The Life of Dead Objects, 2016 [23]
- Let's Talk About the Weather: Art and Ecology in a Time of Crisis, 2016 [24]
- Susan Hiller Magic Lantern, 2016[25]
- Adelita Husni-Bey: A Wave in the Well, 2016[26]
- Fabrik, 2017[27]
- Les mondes de Willy Aractingy, 2017[28]
- Hrair Sarkissian Homesick, 2017[29]
- Partitions et Couleurs : Hommage à Amine El Bacha, 2017[30]
- Fruit of Sleep. Curated by Reem Fadda – Part of Act II program of Tamawuj, Sharjah Biennial 13, 2017[31]
- Monira Al Qadiri: The Craft, 2017[32]
- Joseph Sassine, The Experience of Light, 2018[33]
- Abed Al Kadiri, The Story of the Rubber Tree, 2018[34]
- Cy Twombly Photographs, 2018[35]
- Zad Moultaka: ŠamaŠ[36]
- Fleeting Exits, Curated by Marwan T. Assaf, 2018[37]
- Past Disquiet, Curated by Kristine Khouri and Rasha Salti, 2018[38]
- Gregory Buchakjian Abandoned Dwellings, Display of Systems, Curated by Karina El Helou, 2018[39]
- Laure et Mazen : Correspondance(s), 2019[40]
- La Fabrique des illusions: Collection Fouad Debbas et commentaires contemporains, 2019[41]
- Baalbek, Archives of an Eternity, curated by Vali Mahlouji, 2019[42]
- Picasso et la famille, 2019[43]
- At the still point of the turning world, there is the dance. Curated by Carla Chammas and Rachel Dedman, 2019[44]