There are moments when art becomes more than an act of creation. It becomes a form of remembrance, a bridge between distance and belonging, and a way for communities to come together around a shared purpose. This June, Moments for Lebanon returns to Paris with exactly that ambition, transforming a charity art exhibition into a collective gesture of solidarity with Lebanon.
Founded by members of the Lebanese diaspora, the Paris-based initiative was launched to unite artists, collectors, and supporters around one goal: using creativity to generate tangible humanitarian impact. Its inaugural edition in November 2024 welcomed approximately 1,000 visitors over two days and raised €73,000, with all proceeds donated to Lebanese NGOs including Beit El Baraka, the Lebanese Red Cross, Rotary Lebanon, and Give Me a Paw.
Now, from June 5 to 7, Moments for Lebanon returns for a larger second edition at Galerie au Roi in Paris’s 11th arrondissement. More than simply an art sale, the three-day event seeks to create a space where memory, identity, and collective responsibility intersect. Funds raised will support emergency aid efforts in Lebanon through a carefully selected group of humanitarian organizations working on the ground.
At the heart of this year’s edition is the exhibition theme, Fragments of Memorabilia. The concept explores how memory and belonging are constructed through pieces carried across places, cultures, and generations. Rather than viewing home as a fixed destination, the exhibition embraces the idea that it is often rebuilt through memories, rituals, scents, languages, textures, and personal objects that remain long after physical distance separates people from a place.
For many members of the Lebanese diaspora, this notion resonates deeply. Home can exist simultaneously in Beirut and Paris, London and Dubai, preserved through stories, photographs, traditions, and fragments of memory. The exhibition asks visitors to consider how identity is assembled from these pieces, creating a narrative that feels particularly relevant to contemporary experiences of migration, displacement, and cultural continuity.
The exhibition will showcase more than 250 artworks by over 100 emerging and established artists from across the region and beyond. Photography, painting, illustration, mixed media, and contemporary artistic practices come together in a diverse presentation that reflects the richness of creative voices connected to Lebanon and the wider MENA region. Participating artists include Zena Assi, Rania Matar, Dima Srouji, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, Fouad El Khoury, Tom Young, Diana Bou Salman, Zahra Holm, Yasmina Hilal, Raya Kassisieh, and many others.
Central to the exhibition is a collective installation titled Fragments, bringing together more than 100 small-scale artworks into a single wall-based composition. Individually, each piece tells its own story. Together, they form a larger visual narrative about memory, displacement, and belonging, echoing the exhibition’s overarching theme that identity is often assembled through fragments rather than complete narratives.
The programme extends beyond visual art. Visitors will also experience live performances throughout the weekend, including a musical collaboration by Elia, Charbel Haber, and Joseph Ghosn, alongside a poetry reading that further expands the conversation around memory, place, and cultural expression. Following the event, the exhibition catalogue will remain accessible online for two months, allowing artworks to continue generating support long after the gallery doors close.
This year’s edition is strengthened through partnerships with Hayaty Diaries, the London-based curatorial platform dedicated to championing contemporary MENA artists, and Art For Beirut, the French non-profit founded in response to the Beirut port explosion. Together, the organizations reinforce the exhibition’s mission of connecting art, philanthropy, and cultural advocacy across borders.
Most importantly, every artwork sold contributes directly to humanitarian organizations providing emergency assistance throughout Lebanon. Beneficiaries include arcenciel, Beit El Baraka, the Lebanese Red Cross, and Offrejoie, each supporting vulnerable communities through food security, healthcare, shelter, education, disability inclusion, and emergency relief programmes. At a time when many Lebanese families continue to navigate displacement, economic hardship, and ongoing instability, the exhibition offers a way for art to create immediate and measurable impact.
Moments for Lebanon is about preserving connections, celebrating cultural identity, and transforming collective memory into action. Through hundreds of artworks, dozens of artists, and a shared sense of responsibility, the exhibition demonstrates how creativity can become a powerful vehicle for solidarity—one fragment at a time.
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