Ashkal Alwan

Founded in 1993, Ashkal Alwan is a non-profit association based in Beirut, Lebanon working on arts & culture, education, community development.

Ashkal Alwan is a non-profit association based in Beirut, Lebanon, founded in 1993 to promote contemporary artistic practice, critical thinking on social realities and community-based projects. Its work includes creating networks of exchange between artists, practitioners and institutions, archiving cultural activity, supporting artists with resources for their work, and rethinking arts education and interdisciplinary knowledge production. It also supports civic initiatives. Its programmes include the Home Workspace Program, a tuition-free annual arts study programme; the Home Works forum; the aashra streaming platform; the Perpetual Postponement publishing platform; the publication of literary works and artist books; and a residency programme. Educational and production platforms are free and open to the public. Home Workspace, a 2000m2 facility opened in 2011, houses production and editing studios, performance spaces, auditoria, a cafeteria and a multimedia library for contemporary arts, with an extensive audio-visual archive. The organisation is active in Beirut and maintains national and international partner networks.