What Does it Take to Be an Aspiring Artist in Lebanon? At Artheum: $800

While galleries and art spaces like Sursock Museum, Beirut Art Center and Beirut Exhibition Center play a critical role in promoting and disseminating art and culture in Lebanon through their non-profit efforts, commercial galleries have become a booming business in the country’s contemporary art scene since around 2009.

But for unestablished artists aspiring to make a living off of their work, this clearly comes at a cost. For instance, Artheum art gallery’s upcoming Beirut Photo Fair, which aims to “serve as a platform for current and future talents of photography,” is charging no less than $800 to participate in the exhibition slated for September 18 to 25.

Below, a copy of the gallery’s application form outlines the costs associated with exhibiting one’s work at next month’s fair.



A basic $400 application fee is required, which includes such things as wall space, lighting, security and cleaning. And then come the display options, which range from $400 to $1200 depending on the size of the wall you want to exhibit on.

All this money, it should be noted, for just eight days worth of exhibition time.

Noel Nasr, a photographer and an assistant professor at Notre Dame University, Artheum’s application and exhibition fees are unreasonable. “A space that charges such a high fee is obviously not interested in supporting artists, but is looking to make a profit, and a huge one,” he told Beirut.com, adding, “If a space like Artheum can’t find sponsors to cover the fees of their event, they should simply not have it.”

“I have never been asked to pay any fee in any previous show (neither collective nor solo) and will always refuse to pay a penny to show my work,” says Nasr. “Art spaces usually make a 30 to 40 percent profit from the sales… This is how it has always been and how it should be.” He concluded.

Beirut.com contacted Artheum several times within the last week to find out exactly why they are charging this much for artists who want to display their work at the Beirut Photo Fair.

As of publishing time, Artheum has yet to respond to any of these inquiries.


Post edit:

Beirut.com previously contacted Noha Mouharram, gallery owner and curator from Art on 56th, to comment on the Artheum fees for the Beirut Photo Fair. She responded after the story was published, saying: “We don’t charge the artist anything. We do everything, and from the sale we manage to cover our monthly cost.”