Modern and Contemporary Art Museum


MACAM, the Modern And Contemporary Art Museum, opened in June 2013, in a factory compound in Alita. Owned and operated by a Lebanese NGO holding the same name, this Museum is dedicated to preserving and promoting Lebanese modern and contemporary art.

History

The museum presents a selection of 400 sculptures and installations created by 65 artists born or having lived in Lebanon. It organises regular events highlighting Lebanese artists and inviting new audiences to discover Lebanese art.

Permanent displays

The museum's permanent collections are distributed in two halls, one dedicated to Lebanese sculpture and the other to Lebanese installations. Many works are either on loan or offered to the Museum by the artists or their family.

The Sculpture Hall

The collection is organised according to the material used by the sculptor. In the wood sculptures room, one finds works by Youssef Basbous, Salwa Raouda Shoucair, Charles Khoury, Mouazzaz Rawda, Marwan Saleh, Ibrahim Zod and Mohamad Darwish Sakr. In the stone sculptures room, works by Ezzat Mezher, Wajih Nahle, Michel Basbous, Elias Bazouni, Hussein Madi and Alfred Basbous are exhibited. In the Steel and Bronze room, one can discover a selection of the works of Ginane Makki Bacho, Raffoul Chahine, Leila Jabre-Jureidini, Zaven.
There's also a section dedicated to Lebanese ceramic artists with works by Dorothy Salhab Kazemi, May Aboud and Neville Assad Salha.

The Installation Hall

This hall covers of indoor exhibition space, and offers artists a space to preserve their installations. This hall features work by Mona Sehanoui, Ziad Abillama, Nabil Helou, Raouf Rifai, Mario Saba and Nicole Younes.

Projects

Retrospectives of Lebanese sculptors

Each year, MACAM honours a Lebanese sculptor whose work has marked the country's art scene. In 2014, it exhibited a large selection of Zaven's work. He is renowned for his monumental bronze work, but also for his small bronze cast sculptures. Later the same year, it honoured Youssef Basbous who worked extensively on wood. In 2015, MACAM honoured Boulos Richa, an artist who trained as a blacksmith, and who transforms scraps of iron into figurative art.

Yearly sculpture competition

In 2013, MACAM organised "The Age of Bronze" competition in which artists were invited to present a sculpture that the Museum would cast in bronze, if they won the competition. In 2014, the competition was between wood sculptures, as part of the "Age of Wood". In 2015, the competition was themed the "Age of Iron".

Publications

Lebanese Artists

The museum is open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 12 am to 6 pm.
On appointment, it can be opened for groups on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
MACAM is closed on Mondays.