1997 to 2000: Collecting Early Photography through Research Missions

As detailed in the AIF’s first mission statement, written in 1997, the collection was conceived from a desire to protect, promote and disseminate ‘Arab photographic heritage.’ In this process, iconographies of different places within the ‘Arab’—what we now refer to as the SWANA— region would be located, and physically collected

Commencing in 1997, the first research missions took place in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. Their focus was on collecting professional studio photography and amateur snapshots taken during al-Nahda al-Arabiyya, the Arab Renaissance (late 19th–early 20th century), and the period just after. In the same year, within the framework of Une Saison Africaine organised by the Institut du Monde Arabe, research was also undertaken in Egypt and Morocco. The aim was to collect photographs produced by local photographers, from 1947 to 1967, which revealed how they documented their social sphere at a pivotal moment in history. However, instead of viewing these photographs exclusively through a historical lens, the researchers aimed to identify photographic trends and highlight what they termed in the 1997 project proposal, as hitherto unknown ‘artistic talents’. The next research trip, to Iraq in 2000, provided a window onto the photographic landscape of Baghdad and Mosul. The outcome of these initial research trips was the acquisition of 16,400 photographic prints and negatives taken between 1860 and 1960 by amateur and professional photographers that were to form 235 different photographic collections.

Critical collecting and research practices

Crucially, the process of collecting and researching photographs was guided, and challenged, by discussions amongst the Foundation’s members. In the early years of the Foundation, members discussed the identity, objectives and purpose of the AIF, and the ways in which the photographs were or could be engaged with. While varied, these conversations often centered on research methods, archival structures, and modes of public engagement. More specifically, questions arose such as: If there was an attempt to recover and build knowledge and history via these photographs, would it be possible to therefore assume their veracity and referential validity? How could such a history be told via thematic exhibitions and publications? How could the Foundation provide tools for research? Was the AIF oriented more towards serving the artistic practices of its members, or more towards being a photographic resource for anyone to view and interact with? Was the AIF an artist project or an institution? And, in either case, how could the mechanisms and power of an archive be assessed and deconstructed? While answers to these questions were largely left unresolved, it was clarified by co-founder Akram Zaatari, during a general assembly meeting in 2000, that establishing the collection was not an attempt to define or neatly frame “Arab photography” – such a category, for him, did not exist. Rather, establishing a collection was inspired by an interest in how the craft/art was practiced, and spurred by an aim for knowledge to be produced on photographic practices from the region, and knowledge on the area to surface through photography. However, in the following years the geographical focus would expand to include different diasporas, and locations within the region that were not “Arab.”

Early 2000s: Extending to the diaspora

Research on Lebanese diasporic communities commenced in Senegal in 2002 and Mexico in 2003. In Dakar, AIF member Lara Baladi came across the photographs of professional photographer Youssef Safieddine. As Studio Safieddine had lost most of its photographic archive, the photographs collected were rather of Safieddine and his wife’s personal life during the 1960s. In Mexico City, AIF co-founder Fouad Elkoury looked for photographs by Mexican families of Lebanese origin. In addition to a selection of family photographs, he brought back Studio Yazbek’s photographic archive. 150 black and white negatives, dating from the 1940s to the 1950s, and 150 colour negatives of advertising material for brands such as Nestle, Coca Cola and Tecate, were donated to the AIF. In 2004, Negar Azimi undertook research in Iran. She located 21 collections of studio photographs, such as those of Tehran’s Studio Hollywood and Qom’s Studio Metropole.

2009: Expanding to modern photography

At this point in the AIF’s history, the collection was largely, if not solely, composed of photographs from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This would change in 2009 when the work of Lebanese photo-journalists Assad Jradi and Radwan Mattar was deposited at the AIF. Their photographic prints and negatives cover events and figures in Lebanese history from the 1960s to the 1990s, specifically, the years of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), and moments of daily life despite it. While Jradi captured wounded fighters in hospital with their weapons and various bombings, he also took photographs of fashion shows and football matches. Mattar’s collection consists of photographs of entertainment industry events, interspersed with images of civil unrest.

2011: Reaching Out to the Public and Other Institutions

After several mission statements written in close succession—in 1997, 2000 and 2002—the next to be implemented was written in 2012. This statement incorporated the activities of years past. It references the research on diasporic communities; notes the fourteen exhibitions that had been produced; describes the collection as dynamic, idiosyncratic and situated in social, economic, political and cultural contexts; and, states that the public can engage with the collection through the website and via various activities and workshops. It also, significantly mentions the opening of a space that would be accessible to the public. The establishment of such a space was frequently discussed—indeed, the very first mission statement mentions a centre for photography to be established in Lebanon and Switzerland, and in 2005 talks took place concerning a common space with Ashkal Alwan, Beirut DC and Zawaya. Finally, in 2011 the AIF moved to a new location that included a resource centre where visitors could conduct research. Located on the fourth floor of an apartment block in Gemmayze, the Arab Image Foundation’s premises housed a library, small study area, and the preservation, digitisation and research labs. The 2012 mission statement also expresses aspirations for the years to come: engaging the public in generating critical ideas on photography, artistic and archival practices and establishing a network of like-minded institutions.

From 2012 to 2018, the activities of the Arab Image Foundation involved digitising and documenting various photographic collections, developing a new website, and hosting various visits, residencies, internships and workshops in the Gemmayze office. In parallel, true to its 2012 mission, the AIF established a network of like-minded institutions, collaborating on initiatives promoting photographic preservation and interest in modern cultural heritage. From 2011, The Middle East Photographic Preservation Initiative (MEPPI), a partnership with several institutions, identified significant photographic collections and promoted their preservation through training courses. The Modern Heritage Observatory (MoHO), also officially launched in 2011, brought together institutions from the fields of cinema, music, architecture, photography and more, through joint actions including advocacy, sharing and promoting resources, symposia, and publications. The MoHO network members also celebrated International Archives Week by opening their premises to the public.

The 2018 mission statement, while maintaining many of the intentions described in 2012, does differ in the language it uses to describe the AIF’s role and its collection. Emphasis shifts from heritage conservation to a more contemporary outlook: ‘new pathways for photography and image practices’. As for the items in its care, they become living “objects”, whose material condition evolves over time, rather than two-dimensional images to be retouched in order to preserve the photographer’s initial gesture. These objects are to be considered by the AIF through their multiple strata, taking into account layers such as historic, artistic, cultural, material, and photographic significance.

Recent Years: Diversifying the collection

Amending and changing mission statements has been a consistent practice of the Arab Image Foundation. While the mission statement from 2018 is currently in use, we are working on revising it to better reflect our current interests and activities. In the past few years, for example, the AIF has been interested in pursuing what is absent within the collection, and indeed what has been made absent in History. As such, the collections that have most recently been entrusted to the AIF are Mohamad Abdouni’s Cold Cuts collection, a capsule photo-history of trans women in Beirut during the 1980s and 1990s; Aline Manoukian’s photographic negatives of Lebanon from 1983-1989, Manoukian having been one of the only woman photographers to document the Lebanese Civil War; and, Kurdish photographer Ramazan Zamdar’s glass-plate negatives of studio portraits from 1940s-1970s Kirkuk.

2023: A New Public Space

Moreover, in 2023 the AIF moved to new premises in Kantari, in what could be described as a fulfillment of the aspiration to establish a public research and resource centre in collaboration with other local cultural entities. Along with the preservation, digitisation and research labs, the Kantari space features a common library, that not only houses the AIF’s collection of books, but also those of Dawawine, Public Works, and Archive Books; an auditorium/screening room with equipment from the Cooperative of Cinema Professionals and Dawawine; and a public work/gathering space.