War Diaries of a 30 Year Old Woman
Artwork and written entries by Lebanese artist and curator Zena el-Khalil
Introduction By Maymanah Farhat

With the current Israeli invasion of Lebanon, artists, writers, filmmakers, scholars and poets have been speaking out against the indiscriminate bombardment of civilians and the destruction of the country’s civil infrastructure. Many Lebanese have been publishing their daily experiences under the incursion via blogs and “diary entries” on websites such as the Electronic Intifada. Lebanese artist and curator Zena el-Khalil was one of the first to publish her accounts of life in Beirut at this time. Her writings call attention to the severity of the current situation and capture Lebanese civilian life as it is interrupted and assaulted by what was an unforeseen conflict.

In recent years, el-Khalil had returned to her native Lebanon to begin a sister project to Xanadu, a New York City gallery she established in 2003. Through Xanadu she has curated numerous art exhibitions and organized a residency program that provides Arab artists with the opportunity of working in a New York City studio on a quarterly basis. While living in the United States, el-Khalil was also instrumental in establishing Al Jisser, a nonprofit organization that promotes Arab art and culture. In 2002, she co-curated the groundbreaking art exhibition Williamsburg Bridges Palestine. The New York exhibition featured fifty artists from Palestine and its diaspora. Prior to the onset of this latest violence, el-Khalil had been actively curating and exhibiting in Beirut. She recently curated Shu Tabkha, Ya Mara?, an art exhibition that featured a variety of work by Lebanese female artists who challenge gender roles of the Arab world.

Below are excerpts from el-Khalil’s written entries that document daily life in Lebanon since the conflict began. Both candid and insightful, her writings provide a glimpse into the difficulties Arab artists face as their art, lives and communities are under siege. ArteNews has paired the entries with images of her recent work exhibited in I Love You, a solo exhibition held at Beirut’s esteemed Espace SD in May 2006. These images resonate and take on new meaning within the reality of Lebanon’s current state.