At a time when Lebanon continues to be defunded by the international community and the Gaza War is deeply affecting security, society, and economy, the Zovighian Public Office (ZPO) released its latest cultural creation to honor the quest for accountability and justice for the victims of the largest non-nuclear explosion in modern world history.

In 2022, ZPO Founder Lynn Zovighian, an award-winning philanthropist, entrepreneur, and opera singer, commissioned creative and bold young Lebanese artist, Noémie Honein, to rebuild Beirut and bring her back to life after the Beirut Explosion, leveraging research and strategic analysis developed by the ZPO to enable Lebanon.

"What is Beirut when women blossom?" is both the title of the piece and the strategic question that this cultural creation sought to answer.

The piece is also accompanied by a video production that features a poem, authored by Lynn Zovighian, capturing the rhythm and hidden messages of Honein’s imaginative work. The “Lebanese Dance (Dabke)” medley arranged by Edward Torikian and performed by the Fayha National Choir at the inaugural concert of “Giving Voice to Music” in 2023 offers viewers an uplifting and grounding multi-sensory experience.
With mixed media on paper, Honein reconstructed and reimagined Beirut with the human rights and dignity that the city and its people deserve. The 104 by 74 centimeter creation is incredibly colorful with an abundance of greenery, heritage, and music. Against a panoramic montage of Beirut’s devastated areas along its coastline, the capital’s neighborhoods are scenically painted and illustrated with women-centered, heritage-honoring, and green galore urban design. The capital is transformed into a family- and child-friendly city, kind and accessible to all its people and generations. What is passionately clear is the joy, peace, and light of the city that is exposed in every line and movement crafted by the artist.

“This is our message of hope and happiness for our Beirut, because all Lebanese and people of this city deserve it” said Lynn Zovighian, Founder of Zovighian Public Office

“I wanted to translate Lynn’s vision with my colors, and it became a very hard endeavor because I could not get myself to believe anything but the dystopia that is Lebanon. I had to reconcile with the horrors of our world first before I was finally able to finish our Beirut two years later,” shared Honein, who is based in Paris, France.

Zovighian described their journey: “We spent almost two years pouring love into color, magic on paper, and energy in form. Beirut’s story was a hard one to tell, but we continued to hold and fill space”.

She added, “One day, as Noémie was drawing a Beirut Explosion memorial that we all still deserve, our Beirut, through the eyes and needs of its women, told us that she was ready”.

Noémie Honein said: “art is about choosing beauty and it is a means of resistance”.

The centerpiece of this cultural creation is a memorial of the victims and survivors of the Beirut Explosion, standing tall hand in hand, emerging like a natural rock formation out of the Mediterranean Sea with a beaming sun above it. At the coastline are the historic grain silos that protected much of the city from that fateful day, regenerated and rebuilt with hanging gardens growing from within it.

“Art is about choosing beauty and it is a means of resistance,” described Noémie.

In a personal letter to special recipients of a lithographic rendition of the art piece, comprising journalists, scholars, and doctors, Zovighian wrote: “I recently learned from a wise clinical psychologist that joy is the greatest act of resistance against those who aimed to destroy us but failed. [This is] our message of hope and happiness for our Beirut, because all Lebanese and people of this city deserve it.”

I wanted to translate Lynn’s vision with my colors, and it became a very hard endeavor because I could not get myself to believe anything but the dystopia that is Lebanon. I had to reconcile with the horrors of our world first before I was finally able to finish our Beirut two years later.

Since August 2020, Zovighian has been advocating for women to be given a center stage voice in the recovery, reconstruction and healing of the capital. She has supported various national and grassroots efforts, from advising the United Nations- and European Union-led Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction Framework (3RF) to managing international funding towards development, women-led NGOs and programs, and commissioning musicians to strengthen their resilience against socio-economic and socio-cultural distress. However, with every passing year, interrupted recovery and failed reform have debilitated the chances of Beirut and its people to heal and move forward inclusively and wholesomely, leaving behind a lost middle class and burgeoning impoverished households.

“It is key that we leave no family, woman, or child behind as Lebanon exclusively recovers in pockets, but with no fundamentals and reform in place,” explained Zovighian. “This is what Noémie made sure would not happen in our creation”, Zovighian added, “With every type of woman in age, color, style, and worldview present in this work, this cultural creation is helping model what achieving personal and collective justice can look like. And it is all achievable”.

Lynn Zovighian said: “with every type of woman in age, color, style, and worldview present in this work, this cultural creation is helping model what not instigating injustice and non-inclusivity can look like. And it is all achievable”.

Based on article and data from the Zovighian Public Office website.