Shout It Through Art!

“I leave you my portrait so that you will have my presence all the days and nights that I am away from you.”  Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)

VAPA Association presents

THE HOUSE OF FRIDA

The Beiruti Version of La Casa Azul…

Celebrating the Life and Art of Frida Kahlo, VAPA Association is proud to take you on a remarkable Frida voyage starting 22 October 2010.

An exceptional and unique endeavor in the whole Middle East region: The House of Frida will host a selection of artworks inspired by the life and art of Frida Kahlo, produced by local and international artists as well as film screenings, art discussions and an attempt to reproduce Kahlo’s personal space.

 The House of Frida … a tribute to one of the most influential activists of the 20th Century… to a free spirit, a rebel, a political and artistic revolutionary.

Who is Frida Kahlo?

From 1926 until her death, the Mexican legendary painter Frida Kahlo created striking, often shocking, images that reflected her turbulent life. Kahlo was one of four daughters born to a Hungarian father and a mother of Spanish and Mexican Indian descent, in the Mexico City suburb of Coyoacán.

She did not originally plan to become an artist. A polio survivor, at 15 Kahlo entered the premedical program at the

National Preparatory School in Mexico City. However, this training ended three years later when Kahlo was gravely hurt in a bus accident. She spent over a year in bed, recovering from fractures of her back, collarbone, and ribs, as well as a shattered pelvis and shoulder and foot injuries. Despite more than 30 subsequent operations, Kahlo spent the rest of her life in constant pain, finally succumbing to related complications at age 47.

During her convalescence Kahlo had begun to paint with oils. Her pictures, mostly self‑portraits and still life, were deliberately naive, filled with the bright colors and flattened forms of the Mexican folk art she loved. At 21, Kahlo fell in love with the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, whose approach to art and politics suited her own. Although he was 20 years her senior, they were married in 1929; this stormy, passionate relationship survived infidelities, the pressures of Rivera’s career, a divorce and remarriage, and Kahlo’s poor health. The couple traveled to the United States and France, where Kahlo met luminaries from the worlds of art and politics; she had her first solo exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York City in 1938. Kahlo enjoyed

considerable success during the 1940s, but her reputation soared posthumously, beginning in the 1980s with the publication of numerous books about her work by feminist art historians and others. In the last two decades an explosion of Kahlo-inspired films, plays, calendars, and jewelry has transformed the artist into a veritable cult figure.

More on Frida: www.fridakahlo.com

Where is this event taking place?

At “Ground 68”, the nest of experimental ventures.

“Ground 68” is a public space created by VAPA to welcome people of different backgrounds from all over the country who are involved in cultural creation. The space is intended to become a focal point of social interaction and dialogue, the base upon which we intend to craft our experimental art.

 Address: Ground floor, Al Shami Building, St. Louis Street, Behind MTV offices building, Fassouh, Achrafieh, Beirut.

How to purchase or reserve your membership ticket?

Tickets may be purchased at the exhibition during opening hours or by contacting VAPA at 01-326646 or 03-466764 or via email at vapaorg@gmail.com

Ticket price $20; it entitles you to access the House of Frida during opening hours throughout the duration of the exhibition in addition to an art workshop session on topics related to The House of Frida exhibition at Roof 68 (www.roof68.com).

 Deadline for purchasing tickets: 30 November 2010

Opening hours

The opening ceremony of the exhibition will take place on Friday 22 October 2010 between 7:00 pm and 11:00 pm.

 Thereafter, the exhibition will be open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays between 5:00 pm and 9:00 pm.

 What are the items for sale?

In addition to the exhibited artworks that will be available for sale, various other ready‑made items will be available for sale during the exhibition including books, stationery, Mexican objects, replicas of Frida’s paintings…

The organising team

Visual and Performing Arts Association (VAPA) is a non-profit organization registered in August 2009, with a mission to hold artistic and cultural activities aimed towards resolving social issues.

The idea of an association was perceived by the founders who are part of Lebanon’s active artistic scene and who, despite their past achievements, have struggled as performing and visual artists in a country where censorship takes over the freedom of expression and government support to artists is almost inexistent. VAPA was first intended to, on one hand, provide network support and assistance to growing artists to help them promote their work, and on the other hand, improve the conditions of artists’ rights and freedom of speech in Lebanon.

Facebook  – “VAPA Association” Group and “The House of Frida Exhibition” Event

Blog  – www.vapablog.wordpress.com

For enquiries, please contact:

Kiki Bokassa (concept creator & executive producer), contact info: kbokassa@gmail.com

Samar Hawa (art curator), contact info: samarhawa@gmail.com
Nina Betori (project coordinator), contact info: nina.betori@gmail.com

Charbel Naim (media coordinator), contact info: charbelnaim@hotmail.com

Participating artists

Toufic Araman (UAE)

Roula Chehab-Extravaganza Mania (Lebanon)

Deborah Phares (Lebanon)

Basma Jama Hundallah (KSA)

Sunflowers (Lebanon)

Fausto Novelli (Italy)

Rana Sultani (Lebanon)

Layla Wehbi Machnouk (Lebanon)

Nader Tfayli (Lebanon)

Elsie Haddad (Lebanon)

Hanine Sobh (Lebanon)

Rana Zaher (Lebanon) 

Britta Depping (Canada)

Micheline Akl (Lebanon)