Agenda Culturel is organizing a guided tour of the exhibition ‘Fragments’ by Rayyane Tabet at Sfeir-Semler Gallery on the Saturday 26 May at 11.00 am. The tour will be led by the artist.

‘Fragments’ explores an archeological dig led by Max von Oppenheim, a German diplomat and ancient historian, in Tell Halaf, Northeast Syria, at the turn of the 20th century. In 1929 Tabet’s great-grandfather was appointed by the governing authorities of the French Mandate stationed in Beirut as von Oppenheim’s secretary to gather information on the excavations the latter was conducting in the village of Tell Halaf in Syria. This encounter leads Tabet to uncover a story that connects his family to major historical figures. He raises questions on the survival of heirlooms, the preservation of archeological artifacts, cultural appropriation, museological practices, and migration patterns.  

Rayyane Tabet (b. 1983, Achqout, Lebanon) lives and works in Beirut. He received a Bachelor in Architecture from The Cooper Union in New York and a Masters in Fine Arts from the University of California in San Diego. He has had solo shows at Kunstverein in Hamburg (2017), daadgalerie, Berlin (2017), Witte de With center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam (2017), Museo Marino Marini, Florence (2016) and TROUW Amsterdam (2014). His work has featured in the 21st Biennale of Sydney (2018), the 15th Istanbul Biennial (2017), the 32nd São Paulo Biennial (2016), the 6th Marrakech Biennale (2016), the 10th & 12th Sharjah Biennial (2011 & 2015), and the 2nd New Museum Triennial (2012).

Date: Saturday 26 May at 11.00 am
Place: Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Tannous Building, 4^th floor, behind Forum de Beyrouth – Quarantine (01) 566550
Infos: (01) 369242/3 ; visites@agendaculturel.com
Language: English
Duration: 1 hour