Tony Chakar

Tony Chakar, born in Beirut in 1968, is a Lebanese architect and writer. His work incorporates literature, philosophy and theory, and has been included in numerous exhibitions internationally. His work One Hundred Thousand Solitudes (2012) is a lecture-performance, which examines images that have emerged from the Arab revolutions. Chakar shows how unlikely towns outside of the capital cities in the Middle East, once considered backward and marginal, have now emerged as creative centres of the revolt against political oppressors such as Bashar al Assad. The performance also includes an image of a protester in Tahrir Square holding a sign that reads: “From Egypt to Wall St. Don’t be afraid. Go ahead” – demonstrating that Egyptian citizens are vocal and willing to encourage their counterparts in Western democracies to voice their opposition to current representations of authority and power. Chakar contributes to art and architecture magazines, and teaches history of art and architecture at the Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts, University of Balamand, Beirut.

Exhibitions
2018 Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (NL). 2017 On Becoming Two, Beirut Art Center, Beirut. 2014 Bienal de São Paulo (BR). 2013 Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah (AE).

Publications
Tony Chakar: “Down with the World“, in: e-flux: Superhumanity a project by e-flux Architecture at the 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial, produced in cooperation with the Istanbul Design Biennial, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, the Govett- Brewster Art Gallery, New Zealand, and the Ernst Schering Foundation, 5 December 2016, http:// www.e-flux.com/architecture/superhumanity/68725/ down-with-the-world/.
Tony Chakar: “To Speak Shadow”, in: Afterall: A Journal of Art, Context and Enquiry, 35, University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2014.
Haig Aivazian: “Tony Chakar: On Black Holes”, in: Afterall: A Journal of Art, Context and Enquiry, 35, University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2014.
Tony Chakar: “On seeking incuriously”, in: Erick Beltrán, Nuria Enguita, Charles Esche (eds.), How (…) things that don’t exist, exh. cat., 31st Bienal de São Paulo, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, 2014.

www.tonychakar.com