Drawing From Memory Workshop at Beirut Art Center

In conjunction with Exposure 2012, an exhibition of new works by emerging artists, Beirut Art Center is organizing workshops by two of the participating artists, Kinda Hassan and Hayat Najm. Together, the workshops explore each artist’s unique approach to images, from their conception as memories to their materialization as drawings, and finally their animation through different analogue techniques.

Each workshop can be considered separate and distinct, or participants can take part in both, leading their personal images through a process that resembles a cycle from conception to animation. Each workshop combines an introduction to the theory behind the approach with the practical elements.

The process of the workshop is based on memory. Participants will start by reading and extracting short texts that they are inspired by. They will then use these telegraphic fragments as the basis for drawing an object. This arises from a simple mathematical equation that forms the basis of Hayat Najm’s recent work object = memory = drawing/collage/text.

The workshop will explore the association of memory, through images and text, to objects, and then allow these associations to re-surface as drawings. The mystery and simplicity of this process of drawing brings closer what memory allows us to recall and use.

The goal of the workshop is to invert the role of drawing, which is often used merely as preparation for another artistic media and to therefore have as its starting point each participant’s personal work.

Participation fee: $20

Registration should be made in advance by calling 01.397.018 or emailing: info@beirutartcenter.org.