Public Health
Contemporary art interventions for the American University of Beirut Medical Center, Halim and Aida Daniel Academic and Clinical Center
2017 - 2025 | Beirut, Lebanon
Public Health is a series of site-specific commissions to eight contemporary artists who were invited to consider and challenge the medical center setting as a non-place, defined by Marc Augé as a space individuals pass through without forming lasting social connections or a sense of belonging.
TAP (Temporary Art Platform) commissioned Tamara Al-Samerraei, Catherine Cattaruzza, Hatem Imam, Lara Tabet, Rayya and Zeina Badran, and Nadim Mishlawi and Sharif Sehnaoui to reflect on the different understandings of the medical center space; on the sounds that inhabit it, the people that infiltrate it, and the bodies that constitute it.
By proposing this site-specific commission as part of its newest facility, AUBMC is fostering medical-oriented research in the contemporary art field; catalyzing collaborations between artists, curators, and AUBMC’s staff; and granting AUBMC’s patients and visitors access to experiencing contemporary art made specifically for the hospital environment.
A project by TAP in collaboration with AUBMC.
Curator: Amanda Abi Khalil
Associate Curator: Nour Osseiran
The project has been made possible through the generous support of AUBMC, Hamzah Dayyeh, Nafiz Mustafa Jundi, Michel Khallouf, Elie Khalil Khoury, Henrietta Abela Nammour, Mohamad Ali Zameli and Dina Zameli, and Commercial Insurance. Additionally, the artwork insurance policy has been kindly donated by Commercial Insurance.
