This is the database and digital platform (DDP) of the research project Lebanon’s Art World at Home and Abroad (LAWHA), led by Nadia von Maltzahn. Hosted by the Orient-Institut Beirut, LAWHA was funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement 850760) between October 2020 and October 2026. LAWHA examines the forces that have shaped the emergence of a professional field of art in Lebanon within its local, regional and global contexts following independence from France in 1943. The project proposes a shift of perspective in approaching Lebanon’s art world by focusing on the multi-dimensionality of artists' individual trajectories.

The DDP has been developed as a central component of LAWHA to interrelate context and artistic production, constituting both a tool and open-access repository for future research. The DDP is guided by LAWHA’s main research questions, which revolve around the professionalization of Lebanon’s art sector in the second half of the twentieth century, the impact of the social, political and economic environment on the art world and its protagonists, and how artists are represented in relation to the nation. 

The ontology has been developed by Monique Bellan and Nadia von Maltzahn in cooperation with the University of Bologna’s Digital Humanities Advanced Research Centre (DH.ARC), who adapted the open source software (Omeka S) to LAWHA’s needs. The database was initially hosted by the Venice Centre for Digital and Public Humanities (VeDPH) and was migrated to an external host prior to publication. The public interface was designed by Calib.ro. Data entry has been completed by the LAWHA team (see project blog).

The website is maintained by the Orient-Institut Beirut (OIB), Zokak el-Blat, rue Hussein Beyhum, P.O.B. 11-2988, Beirut, Lebanon.

You can send your inquiries to lawha@orient-institut.org. Feedback, corrections and additions are welcome.