The Tamesis
When bombs fell on Lebanon, Lebanese artist Abed Al Kadiri gave dozens of displaced children a “safe, empty space” where they could express themselves artistically and collaborate on a large wartime mural that he hoped to one day display to the public.
Kadiri, who was born in Beirut, has been displaced four times due to the Iran-Iraq conflict that directly affected Lebanon in early March, especially the south and parts of the Lebanese capital. Al-Qadiri was in his studio in Beirut with his son when a nearby hotel was attacked last month. “There was a street between us and we have been on a journey of displacement ever since,” Al Qadiri told us Fashion.
Al Kadiri’s work is primarily a visual response to major political events, crises and conflicts in the region, including the Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020, the 2023 Gaza genocide and the 2024 conflict in Lebanon. they led him to create Today I want to be a treea series of emotionally charged charcoal murals. “The best form of refuge and expression I use is art. In this situation, I cannot be passive through this crisis. It is a form of therapy that helps reduce the injustice and destruction I experience,” he said.
Photo: Courtesy of Abed Al Kadiri
When the attacks intensified, Al-Qadiri and his son were painting in his studio, where they “were able to disconnect from what was going on outside,” he said. “When the whole world around us is burning, the canvas becomes a safe space where we can release our emotions and psychological projections. It holds all of these emotions and ideas.”
This activity sparked the idea of reaching out to displaced children across Lebanon. Alkadiri said he felt “paralyzed” by the situation and felt he couldn’t create art on his own. “I saw displaced people on the streets of Beirut, sheltering in tents along the corniche. I thought of the children, and their faces impressed me most. Some days I dreamed of their faces,” he said.
Photo: Courtesy of Abed Al Kadiri
