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The inauguration of the first edition of Batroun Photo, an unprecedented open-air photography festival organized in partnership with the Beirut Center of Photography (BCP) as part of the Batroun Festival, took place on July 31, 2024. Throughout the month of August, the city of Batroun will be transformed into an open-air art gallery.
The opening of the Batroun Photo exhibition was held at Dar Al Mona, followed by a march to Saint Stephan Cathedral, tracing the path of the photos displayed on the city’s walls. Finally, the award ceremony took place at Mina at sunset, where a refreshing lemonade awaited the guests.
Marcelino El Harek, president of the municipality of Batroun, expressed his enthusiasm for the exhibition. Out of the 328 photos submitted for the contest, the jury, composed of Roger Moukarzel, Fares El Gemmal, and Rania Mouawad Sbeih, selected 108 photos that are now exhibited on the wall of Mina in Batroun. The first, second, and third prizes were awarded to Dany Faddoul, Marc Sarkis, and Pierrot Daou, respectively.
Dany Faddoul used a drone with a timer to capture an image of himself in the foreground, “in harmony with the shadow created by the direct sunlight.” Marc Sarkis took his photo with a GoPro camera equipped with a dome, which “allowed him to capture an image both above and below the water.” His work features a resplendent jellyfish. As for Pierrot Daou, he highlighted “the diverse and soothing beauty of the sea at sunset,” relying on the purity of nature rather than technique.
The aim of Batroun Photo is to transform Batroun into an open-air art gallery. The city thus abounds with photographic works by Elie Bekhazi, Marie-Noëlle Fattal, Fares Jammal, Elige Nehmeh, Frédéric Stucin, Paul Zgheib, and Michel Zoghzoghi. In parallel, the exhibition Please Don’t Take Away My Joy will be presented at Dar Al-Mona, featuring works by Omar Gabriel and Omar Al-Bakeer, offering an intimate discussion between the two artists on the fleeting beauty amidst the concrete.
Immersing oneself in these photos, as well as in those of the contest participants, gives a limitless new dimension to art. Batroun thus becomes the city of stories, offering a space for creation and imagination, under a blue sky and air filled with the scent of water and salt.
