Arab Images

Registered in 1999, the Arab Images dot com, informally started its activities much earlier through the personal involvement of its founding members. In 1993, it reintroduced artistic photography in Lebanon by organizing the first post-conflict photography exhibition together with the first publication of the book "Les Enfants La Guerre, Liban 1985-1992" (Children at war, Lebanon, 1985-1992). Afte

r laying the groundwork to the Arab Images Foundation. Our activities since then have centered on creating an institutional collection of regional historical photographs in Saudi-Arabia in 2000. Our main activity has resulted in books and photography exhibitions that has toured the world. Our archives include:

- photographs documenting communities daily live in the MENA region.
- photography assignments for: GEO magazine, Le Monde, Libération, Télérama Magazine in France. Die Weltwoche and Der Bund in Switzerland;
- series published in co-edition with Actes-Sud (in France) in the book "Assaoudia", the second part of an Arab trilogy that started with "Mes Arabies", published in 1999 by the same publisher, and accompanied by an exhibition at the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie in Arles, France.
- elaboration of the project "Mes Ententes'' (in English: Our Misunderstandings). Part of the AFKAR program, sponsored by the European Union and executed by the Office of Minister of State and Administrative Reform (OMSAR) in collaboration with the Delegation of the European Commission in Lebanon. The project established a field analysis of the situation of the return of displaced families from the civil war to Mount Lebanon. Production of a brochure to introduce the objectives and activities of the "Mes Ententes'' project to municipalities and interviews of individuals; the making of a book of photography and text (Arabic, French and English) entitled "Mes Ententes'' . Production of a 7-minute film accompanying the book, elaboration of a foldout for the book launch and exhibition which took place at Biel, Beirut. Installation of a website and forum, www.mesententes.com. A team of 11 collaborators was formed to produce this project: an art director, a project manager, two writers, a photographer, a coordinator, a film director, a graphic designer, an archivist, an accountant and a web developer.

- installation of the Images Center at the King Abdulaziz Public Library in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We established a methodology and policy for the conservation of the collection of historical photographs, the restoration and valuing of original documents. Organization of a treatment chain for digital images, initiation and formation of a team of five people to work on the functioning, the mechanism and the usage of this equipment to transfer the images to a digital format; development, programming and production of a database for the digital images in computerized networks. A team of five collaborators was formed to supervise the workgroups in place. We published and distributed research about the digital treatment of photographs and historical documents.
- production and publication of photographic research on Saudi Arabia featured in the January 2003 issue of the magazine «Du» in Zurich, Switzerland.
- documents about organization and production of various exhibitions and conferences around the theme of "photography and its influence on our social life".