From Sept. 21–24, the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Center will host the 8th Beirut Art Fair, curated by Rose Issa, widely recognized as an expert on contemporary Middle Eastern art. With a focus on aesthetic, conceptual and socio-political issues faced over the past 10 years by the Arab world, the exhibition “Ourouba, The Eye of Lebanon” will include paintings, photography, sculpture and installations, many on loan from private and institutional collections in Lebanon.

Themes for this year’s art fair will center on memory, destruction and reconstruction, conflict and peace. Translated, ourouba means Arabicity, and will serve as the link between pieces selected for the exhibition. Known for her work in Middle Eastern cinema and visual arts, Issa’s past work has included the production of numerous exhibitions held at worldwide locations including the Crawford Art Gallery, Cork; Virginia Commonwealth University, Qatar, Doha; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Beirut Exhibition Center; Tate Britain, London; the European Parliament, Brussels; the State Museum of Oriental Art, Moscow; and the Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam.