
While the opening of the show of Walid Raad was unfortunately cancelled due to the political situation, the exhibition is open and on view in both Beirut galleries. Titled ‘Another Festival of (In)gratitude’ Walid Raad’s exhibition reflects the artist’s engagement with critical times and what they reveal or obscure.
The dual exhibitions in Beirut present both new and recent works. At the Karantina Gallery, two large-scale immersive video installations take over entire rooms. These installations are complemented by four sculptural works and five series of prints, all bearing Raad’s signature approach to interpreting current events. For example, ‘Festival of (In)gratitude’ features 15 prints that initially appear as large, colourful abstractions but upon closer inspection, reveal familiar media images and fragmented newspaper captions, transforming journalistic language into a disjointed narrative. Similarly, a seemingly ordinary yet vibrant book on World War I uniforms becomes, under closer scrutiny, an index of Lebanese artists collaborating with warlords.


In the Downtown gallery, Raad introduces a new multimedia installation focusing on the 1983-84 bombardment of Lebanon by the USS New Jersey, the most decorated American battleship. The ship’s presence and actions in Lebanese waters were direct consequences of Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, the PLO’s evacuation from Beirut, the election and assassination of Bashir Gemayel, the Sabra-Chatilla massacres, and the bombings of the US embassy and Marines headquarters in Beirut in 1983. In an installation attributed to his fictional collaborator Manal B. Tarabay, Raad presents dozens of photographic cutouts encircling a covered car, all linked to a character who seems unable to extricate these images not only from her mind but also from her body.

For the past thirty years, Walid Raad has been crafting his own documents, often reflecting events that occurred in Lebanon over the past five decades. While these events did take place, his artworks are attempts to visualise and narrate what he perceives in an alternate reality.

Right: We have never been more populated, 1997/2020, 7 pigmented inkjet prints, 84 x 60.5 cm each, edition 5 + 2 AP, Center: I long to meet the masses once again _ I, 2019, wood, 378 x 263 x 100 cm, unique. Installation view, Walid Raad: Another Festival of (In)gratitude, 2024, Sfeir-Semler Karantina, Beirut, Lebanon. Courtesy of Walid Raad and Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg
About Walid Raad
Walid Raad is a Lebanese artist and professor of Art at The Cooper Union in New York. His work includes ‘The Atlas Group’, a 15-year project on Lebanon’s contemporary history, and ongoing projects like ‘Scratching on Things I Could Disavow’ and ‘Sweet Talk: Commissions (Beirut)’. His solo exhibitions have been held at prestigious institutions like the Louvre, MoMA, and Whitechapel Gallery. Raad’s work has been featured in major biennales, including Venice and Documenta. He has received numerous awards, including the Hasselblad Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship, and is represented by Sfeir-Semler and Paula Cooper Galleries.
Location: Sfeir Semler Galleries Beirut
Dates: August 7, 2024 – January 4, 2025

‘Cotton Under My Feet: The Hamburg Chapter’ by Walid Raad at The Hamburger Kunsthalle