If Not Now, When
If Not Now, When
By Dana Hassan
In Artworks
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Item details:
▸ Features: Handmade Unique Piece▸ Materials: Canvas Concrete Conte Graphite Markers Ink Acrylic
▸ Art technique: Mixed Media
▸ Dimensions (cm): 5.08 x 88.9 x 55.88
▸ Net Weight (kg): 5.0
If Not Now, When? is among 20 finalist artworks that were on display at The Art of Resilience exhibition, World Bank headquarters in Washington DC, and the only one representing the Middle East region. The exhibition was curated from a global call for entries by the World Bank Art Program and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery.
Cities age just like us. We tend to think of our cities as robust structures withstanding natural disasters. In reality, their urban skin is aging, accelerating dysfunction of their tissues and maintenance of their normal functions. In this crumpled abstraction of Beirut, I went skin-deep exploring one of the oldest cities that, according to a legend, has been demolished and reconstructed seven times. The three-dimensional fabric traces Beirut’s dilapidated urban evolution.
The drawings show how Beirut’s nucleus has grown and how neighborhoods evolved with a range of economic, urban, social, and cultural levels which led to disparity in the urban fabric, threatening the disappearance of the city’s unique character and its planning and design characteristics. Some are orderly, while others are random. Some are in perfect condition and some are broken into pieces. The markings, cracks, circles, squares, and lines symbolize the ’emotional faults’ that Beirut needs to resolve – from tempering impacts to reducing vulnerabilities and sustaining political commitment– to survive and thrive against future stresses and shocks.
Production year: 2019.
About Dana Hassan
Dana Hassan was born in Beirut amid civil war and political instability. She lives and works between Cyprus and Lebanon. Her passion for art began early in her childhood and grew throughout the years. Even after completing her BA in Business Administration at the American University of Beirut, she pursued her art studies at the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts, where she earned a BA in Illustration and Comics.
Dana works at the intersection of conceptual art and storytelling. She believes that art can be a powerful way to communicate and engage with communities on global matters, making a strong impact, changing perceptions, or calling for action. In October 2019, Dana was shortlisted among 15 international artists to help raise awareness of disasters and environmental changes in our communities and societies. Her artwork "If Not Now, When?" was featured in The Art of Resilience exhibition at the World Bank headquarters in Washington DC.
Since then, Dana has become part of a large network of international artists, exhibiting her work in collective shows across Europe, the Middle East, and the United States of America.