From October to December 2016, Choisi - one at a time presents Beirut – The Photobooks, a distinctive section of books from the Artphilein Foundation collection.

The Foundation first approached the theme of Beirut through the artworks by the Lebanese artists Walid Raad and Randa Mirza. Afterwards, lead by an interest on the theme of memory, the research resolved to focus rather on photobooks.

Many artists of different generations and educational backgrounds chose this artistic medium in order to depict Beirut from different points of view: the urban structure, the social stratification, the evolution of the society, as well as the postwar reconstruction and the attempts to adapt the city to the needs of contemporary life.

The photobooks on Beirut and Lebanon –in the collection of Artphilein Foundation– allow an insight in the interpretation of traumatic events of recent history.

After many researches on this city, Artphilein Foundation is happy to share with the public the extraordinary variety of photographic experiences, where Beirut is either the focal point, or the transit station or the final destination of a journey.

Gian Franco Ragno, critic and historian of photography, has been commissioned by Artphilein Foundation to write a text proposing a personal reading of the city of Beirut through these photobooks of the collection.