Apart from the fact that artistic practice constructs itself as a singular language, there is no art without language. For we cannot really see without the words and the knowledge that inform what is "visible" to us. Getting back to our perception without this frame is an effort. In the realm of representation, however, the link between visibility and "text" is often ignored and at other times repressed – as when photography proposes to void the traces it records of their meaningful connections with reality and politics.
Art criticism is therefore delineated in this program on two levels. On the one hand, it sheds light on the various discursive contexts in which art occurs as well as on the frameworks of research and publication that aim to inform art production – whether through journals, institutions, or particular intellectual positioning.
On the other hand, it provides means to develop visibility through words and their nominative power, through verbal exchange and sharing of information, contextual knowledge and influences with regards to what is at stake in what we see. Furthermore, this program seeks to create momentum for a practice of art critique in Beirut and the region, departing from the problematic of aesthetic judgement and the work of language in order to set a common ground for such a practice. In addition to workshops given by local and international art critics and artists, the texts produced during the workshop will be published on a blog set up for this purpose in order to encourage and extend conversations related to art and art practices.