All is not Glitter : Review of “Beirut and the Golden Sixties: A Manifesto of Fragility” Berlin, Gropius-Bau, 25 March – 12 June 2022 Lyon, 14 September – 31 December 2022

Abstract

The exhibition Beirut and the Golden Sixties: A Manifesto of Fragility highlights what the creator's argue is the fragility of the narrative around Beirut’s “Golden Age”, the period in the run up to Lebanon’s civil war. In this review, the exhibition genesis is traced and its display in Berlin’s Gropius Bau and MAC Lyon presented. A number of works are showcased to demonstrate how the curators construct the five sections that focus on place, body, form, politics and the Civil War. The review provides some contextualization for an exhibition of rich and diverse artworks and archival material that contain a multitude of stories.