Gregory Buchakjian (b.
1971) is a Beirut based art
historian and photographer. PhD
graduate at Université Paris IV
Sorbonne, he is assistant
professor at Académie Libanaise
des Beaux-Arts (ALBA), where he
co-founded, with Pierre
Hage-Boutros and Rana Haddad,
Atelier de Recherche ALBA
(1997-2004), a transdisciplinary
platform that triggered public
interventions in issues such as
memory and space appropriation.
Gregory
Buchakjian est photographe et
historien d’art, il vit et
travaille à Beyrouth. Titulaire
d'un doctorat à l'Université Paris
IV Sorbonne, il est professeur
assistant à l’Académie Libanaise
des Beaux-Arts (ALBA), où il avait
cofondé, avec Pierre Hage-Boutros
et Rana Haddad, l’Atelier de
Recherche ALBA (1997-2004), une
plateforme transdisciplinaire
ayant appréhendé des
problématiques urbaines telles la
mémoire et l’appropriation de
l’espace.
Buchakjian’s scholarly
research in modern and
contemporary Lebanese and Arab art
generated numerous publications
including War and Other
(Impossible) Possibilities.
Thoughts on Arab History and
Contemporary Art (2012) and
talks. Unrest, decay and heritage
are among the issues discussed in
his PhD dissertation, Abandoned
Dwellings in Beirut. Wars and
Transformation of the Urban
Space. 1860-2015.
Ses recherches sur l’art
au Liban et dans le Monde Arabe
sont régulièrement matérialisées
par des publications dont War
and Other (Impossible)
Possibilities. Thoughts on Arab
History and Contemporary Art
(2012) et des interventions. L'instabilité
politique, la ruine et le
patrimoine figurent parmi les
problématiques abordées par sa
thèse de doctorat intitulée : Habitats
abandonnés de Beyrouth, guerres
et mutations de l'espace urbain,
1860-2015.
His personal work deals
with the city and its history
through multiple scopes including
writing (Halte),
installation (Leningrad),
animation film (What, shoes?,
2006) and most notably,
photography. His first exhibition,
Nighthawks (Beirut,
2008, Noorderlicht
Photofestival, 2011)
captured underground nightlife in
Lebanon post-2006 war. Since 2009,
he is exploring derelict dwellings
in Beirut. This long-term
photographic project that involves
mapping, architectural
exploration, archive collecting
and narratives is simultaneously
the origin of the PhD
dissertation, one of its subjects,
and one of its outcomes.
Son
travail personnel aborde
différentes pratiques dont
l’écriture (Halte),
l’installation (Leningrad),
le film d’animation (Quoi, des
Chaussures?) et
principalement la photographie. Sa
première exposition, Nighthawks
(Beyrouth, 2008, Noorderlicht
Photofestival, 2011), saisissait
les images d’une vie de nuit sous
haute tension politique. Depuis
2009, sa camera explore les
habitats abandonnés de Beyrouth.
Ce projet qui engage la
cartographie, l’exploration
architecturale, la collecte de
documents et de récits est à la
fois l’origine de la thèse de
doctorat, un de ses objets, et un
de ses aboutissements.
He is
member of the advisory committee
of the Saradar Collection, he took
part in many academic and artistic
juries including Boghossian Prize
(2012), Beirut Art Center’s
Exposure (2013) and Beirut Art
Residency (2017).
Membre du comité
consultatif de la Collection
Saradar, il a pris part à de
nombreux jurys académiques et
artistiques, dont le Prix
Boghossian (Villa Empain, 2012),
Exposure (Beirut Art
Center, 2013) et Beirut Art
Residency (2017).
[publication] The
lives and deaths of inhabitants
in abandoned houses, 2017
[view project]
2017
(10)
[talk]
"2007: The Pavilion of Lebanon", Venice
Biennale and the Arab World
conference, Ca' Foscari, Venice,
IT [view website]
2017
(05)
[publication]
"Les petits lits
blancs" in
Revue Le courage nº3: Age
d'or / Age de fer.
Éditions Grasset &
Fasquelle, Paris, FR [view project]
2017
(03)
[talk]
ARP Talk: Memories of Stones,
conversation with Said
Baalbaki. in
partnership with
ARP–ALBA-University of Balamand,
Sursock Museum, Beirut, LB [view website]
2016
(11)
[talk]
"Refugee Crisis in the Levant",
panel in Design, Culture and
Societies, ARD 11, Ateliers de la
Recherche en Design, at Académie
Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA),
Beirut, LB [view website]
2016
(06)
[PhD
defence] "Abandoned Dwellings in
Beirut. Wars and Transformation of
the Urban Space. 1860-2015",
Institut National d'Histoire de
l'Art, Paris, FR [view website]
2016
(06)
[publication]
Confined Space by Laura J.
Padgett, text by Gregory
Buchakjian. Published by Galerie
Rautenstrauch and Anke
Ehle-Barthel, Frankfurt, DE [view project]
2016
(05)
[talk]
Discussion with Ali Cherri
following the projection of his
films The Disquiet and The Digger,
Sursock Museum, Beirut, LB [view website]
2016
(04)
[talk]
Discussion moderator with
Antoine Moreau,
Michel Lasserre and
Paola Yacoub, International
Conference: L’action d’art (The
Action of Art), Sursock Museum,
Beirut, LB [view brochure]
2016
(01)
[talk]
"Excavating ghosts from one's
artwork", in Art and Ideology,
Seminar at the Centre André
Chastel / Institut National
d'Histoire de l'Art, Paris, FR [view brochure]
2015
(11)
[publication]
Wadi Abou Jmil. Artist
Book by Saïd Baalbaki, text by
Gregory Buchakjian, Berlin, DE [view
project]
2015
(10)
[publication]
Beirut by Night. A
Century of Nightlife Photography,
Middle East Journal of Culture and
Communication, BRILL, Leiden, NL [view
project]
2015
(10)
[publication]
Last nights at the
Holiday Inn in Litterature,
art and contemporary world:
narratives, history, memory,
Colloquium papers, edited by Nayla
Tamraz, Presses de l'Université
Saint-Joseph, Beirut, LB [view
project]
2015
(10)
[talk]
"Lebanon at war[s] in Contemporary
Artistic Practices" with Marwan
Rechmaoui, Mounira Solh, Fares
Chalabi, Hachem Adnan, Lamia Abi
Azar and Ghassan Maasri.
Colloquium organized by Ifpo,
Mansion, Beirut, LB [view website]
2014
(12)
[seminar]
Unintentional Monuments of the
Lebanese War, Inalco -
Institut National des Langues et
Civilisations Orientales, Paris,
FR
2014
(11)
[publication]
Michelangelo
Pistoletto in Beirut, Beirut Exhibition
Center, Beirut, LB [view
project]
2014
(09)
[publication]
Michel
Basbous, Beirut Exhibition
Center, Beirut, LB [view
project]
2014
(08)
[talk]
"Modernity out of the Center",
Temporary Art Platform, Miziara,
LB [view website]
2014
(06)
[talk]
"Art Practices Beyond the
Contextual Narrative in the Middle
East: Forms, Poetic Images and
Other Aesthetics" with Umer Butt,
Pascal Hachem, Basim Magdy and
Amanda Abi Khalil (moderator), Art
Basel, Basel, CH [view website]
2014
(05)
[talk]
"Last nights at the Holiday Inn",
in Literature, art and
the contemporary world:
narratives, history, memory
colloquium, Université
Saint-Joseph (USJ), Beirut, LB
[view brochure]
2014
(04)
[talk]
"Aref Rayess and the 1960s-1970s
Beirut Art Scene", round table
with Catherine David, Amal
Traboulsi and Joseph Tarrab, Artistic
Research Practices (ARP) at Académie
Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA),
Beirut, LB
2014
(03)
[consultancy]
Michel Basbous: A
Modernist Project for
Lebanon, collaboration
with Agial Art Gallery, Art Dubai
Modern 2014, Madinat Jumeirah,
Dubai, AE
2014
(03)
[consultancy]Huguette Caland:
Bringing Life into Shapes,
collaboration with Galerie
Janine Rubeiz, Art Dubai Modern
2014, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, AE
[view brochure]
2014
(01)
[talk]
"The Artist in the Arab World:
Between Political Crisis and
Petrodollars", in The artist's
identity in European and
International History,
Seminar at the Centre André
Chastel / Institut National
d'Histoire de l'Art, Paris, FR [view website]
2013 (12)
[installation]
Abandoned
Dwellings from Beirut to Namibia,
produced by Valerie Cachard, Kolmanskop, NA [view
project]
2013 (11)
[consultancy]
Member of the
jury of Exposure 2013 exhibition
dedicated to emerging artists in
and from Lebanon, Beirut Art
Center, Beirut, LB [
view website]
2013
(09)
[consultancy]
Pascal
Hachem, You Always Want What the
Other Has(Edition 2013),
Federica
Schiavo Gallery, Rome, IT [view
website]
[talk]
"Ethics and photography", Olayan
School of Business, American
University of Beirut, LB
2013 (03)
[publication]
Hanibal Srouji. Painting fire,
water, earth and air [view
project]
2012 (10)
[publication]
Art
from Lebanon, Modern and
Contemporary Artists, volume 1:
1880-1975, launching, Beirut
Exhibition Center, Beirut, LB [view
project]
2012
(05)
[consultancy]
Member of the
jury of the Boghossian Foundation
Prize for Young Lebanese Artists
2012, Villa
Empain, Brussels, BE [view website]
2012 (05)
[publication] War and Other
(Impossible) Possibilities, launching,
Papercup Store, Beirut, LB [view
project]
2012
(04)
[consultancy]
Advisory board member of ACE /
Saradar Group for the constitution
of a museum collection for modern
and contemporary art in Beirut, LB
[view
website]
2012 (03)
[publication] Art is the Answer,
Villa Empain, Brussels, BE [view
project]
2012 (01)
[photo projection] The
Dress at Platform,
Pictures of the Year event,
National Museum of Singapore, SG [view
website]
2011 (09)
[photo
exhibition] Nighthawks at
Metropolis, City Life in the Urban
Age, Noorderlicht Photofestival,
Groniningen, NL [view
website]
2011
(03)
[talk]
Lebanese
Contemporary
Art and its Market, roundtable,
Beirut Art Fair, Biel, Beirut, LB
2011 (05)
[consultancy] Museum of Vine and Wine
official launching press
conference, Bristol Hotel, Beirut,
LB
2011 (03)
[photo
exhibition] Beach Life at Q
Calling the Shots, vol. II,
Narrative Photography, Q
Contemporary, Beirut, LB [view
project]
2010 (12)
[photo
exhibition] Black Glam at
Salon d'Automne, Beirut Exhibition
Center, Beirut, LB
2010 (11)
[photo
exhibition] Bejart/Baalbeck at
Q Calling the Shots, vol. I,
Architectural Photography, Q
Contemporary, Beirut, LB [view
project]
2010 (06)
[publication +
exhibition] De Lumière et de Sang,
Fondation Audi, Beirut, LB,
catalogue Alarm Editions [view
project]
2010 (04)
[publication] Esteban Lisa, Fundación
Esteban Lisa, Buenos
Aires, AR and Fundación Antonio
Pérez, Disputación de Cuenca, ES [view
project]
2010 (02)
[publication] Convergence. New Art
from Lebanon, Katzen
Arts Center, Washington D.C., US [view
project]
[film] What,
Shoes, Festival de Genève
La Bâtie, Geneva, CH; Beirut D.C.,
Beirut, LB; Nafas Beirut, Espace
SD, Beirut LB; Dubai International
Film Festival, Dubai, UAE; Sydney
Arab Film Festival, Sydney, AU;
Shorts and Shwarma, Institut
Français, London, UK [view
project]
2006 (05)
[publication] Halte, ed. Labor
et Fides, Geneva, CH [view
project]
2003 (08)
[installation] Points d'eau,
Salima, LB, with Atelier de
Recherche ALBA in
partnership with
Patrimoine Sans Frontières and
Institut Français d'Architecture [view
website]
2002 (11)
[publication] Pas de Place,
with Atelier de Recherche ALBA,
Beirut, LB [view
project]
2001 (09)
[installation] Dialogue des Cultures
dans un jardin de sourds,
Centre Culturel Français, Beirut,
LB, with Atelier de Recherche ALBA
[view
project]
2001 (07)
[publication +
installation] Lieux: 1 Acte / 2
Pièces, Fraykeh Silk
Factory, LB, with Atelier de
Recherche ALBA and Fraykeh
Festival 2001 [view
project]
2001 (02)
[installation] 1 Acte / 2 Pièces,
Théâtre de Beyrouth, Beirut, LB,
with Atelier de Recherche ALBA and
Shams [view
website]
2000 (05)
[installation] Machines Célibataires,
Beirut Hall, Beirut, LB,
with Atelier de Recherche ALBA [view
project]
1999 (07)
[installation] Bien Fonds 1237:
l'architecte, le vernaculaire et
le franc tireur, La
Fabrika, Beirut, LB, with
Atelier de Recherche ALBA [view
website]
1998 (07)
[projection] Mois
de la photographie au Liban,
various locations, LB, with Académie Libanaise des
Beaux-Arts ALBA [view
project]
1997 (10)
[performance] Hommage
au Grand Théâtre de Beyrouth,
Grand Theatre, Beirut, LB, with
Atelier de Recherche ALBA and
Companie Théâtre Ecarlate
1997 (05)
[installation] L'ALBA Marque l'Espace
du CCF, Centre Culturel
Français, Beirut, LB,with Académie
Libanaise des Beaux-Arts ALBA [view
project]
1997 (04)
[publication] Les
maîtres du temps, for
L'Agenda Culturel [view
project]
1996 (04)
Launching of Baron &
Baron, www.baronbaron.com [view
project]
1995 (11)
[publication] Le
musée à l'école: Cezanne,
for L'Agenda Culturel [view
project]
1995 (10)
Starts teaching at
Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts,
ALBA, Beirut, LB
1995 (09)
Diplôme d'Etudes
Approfondies (D.E.A.) in Art
History, Université Paris IV,
Sorbonne, Paris, FR
1993 (06)
Maitrise in Art History,
Université Paris IV, Sorbonne,
Paris, FR
1987 (08)
[performance] This is a
slide of my House, Legacy
International Youth Program,
Bedford, VA, US [view
project]
