1997–2000: Collecting early photography through research missions

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 into the photographic landscape of Baghdad and Mosul. The outcome of the initial research trips was the acquisition of 16,400 photographic prints and negatives taken between 1860 and 1960 by amateur and professional photographer,, 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 circumvent “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.

2012: Reaching out to the public and other institutions

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 was 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.

Recent Years: Diversifying the collection

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. As such, the next mission statement, written in 2018, shares many of the same ideas with the previous.

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 was 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 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.

If you would like to know more about the Arab Image Foundation, you can find below readings and references that concern the AIF’s work, exhibitions and publications.