‘Hope in an Age of Dystopia’ exhibition depicts how ‘the world seems to be falling apart’

Director of Dalloul Art Foundation Wafa Roz told Arab News that the show captured how “the world seems to be falling apart.” (Supplied)

DUBAI: Beirut’s Dalloul Art Foundation latest exhibition, “Hope in an Age of Dystopia,” features 66 works by creatives from all over the Arab world — and beyond.
With pieces by artists such as Hady Sy and Selim Mawad of Lebanon, and Palestinian Amer Shomali, the event runs in Beirut until Aug. 15 and also showcases the work of Lebanese-Canadian creative Johanne Allard.
Director of Dalloul Art Foundation Wafa Roz told Arab News that the show captured how “the world seems to be falling apart.”
She said: “The past few years have been especially difficult. However, despite all this, there remains a sense of diffident hope — that even with all these terrible events and increasing power differences that seem inescapable, we are able to resist and to find different ways to move forward.”
Roz added the artistic pieces shared a glimpse into how global power structures affected people’s daily realities and shaped their needs, desires and feelings.
“The social issues depicted in the exhibition are both on the global and local scale … Each artwork depicts a part of the ongoing narrative of overarching systems of control,” she said.
Allard’s work from the “A Feast In The Ruins” series fits seamlessly into the theme.
“Each piece in this series uses embroidery on metal sculptures of moths to symbolize the destruction and erosion of cultural and societal fabrics caused by war and imperialism in the Levant and MENA regions,” explained the artist.
Allard said her work served as both a remembrance of the past and a critique of ongoing systemic issues, while also including elements of hope and resilience.
“Ultimately, ‘Hope in an Age of Dystopia’ is about acknowledging the challenges of our time without giving in to despair. It inspires us to confront difficult truths, reimagine possibilities, and actively contribute to change, where hope prevails over uncertainties,” she added.
Roz also spoke of how trends in the world of art constantly evolved.
“We are seeing more conceptual works that move away from direct depictions, most likely as a reflection of the complexities of the themes and concepts which the artists are exploring,” she said.