NNA - The American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC), in collaboration with TAP (Temporary Art Platform), launched “public health," an art and medicine project which is a first-of-its-kind initiative in Lebanon and the region that consists of contemporary art interventions for the Halim and Aida Daniel Academic and Clinical Center (ACC) at AUBMC.
The launch was held in the presence of AUB President Fadlo R. Khuri, AUB Medical Center Director Joseph Otayek, Associate Vice President for Academic Centers, Development, and External Affairs Ali Taher, TAP Founder and Curator Amanda Abi Khalil, along with esteemed AUB and AUBMC faculty and leadership.
“Public health" is a series of site-specific commissions to eight contemporary artists who were invited in 2017 to consider and challenge the medical center setting as a non-place, defined by anthropologist Marc Augé as a space individuals pass through without forming lasting social connections or a sense of belonging.
Initiated in 2017 and brought to life through the vision of Curator Amanda Abi Khalil and Associate Curator Nour Osseiran of TAP, the project unveiled six artworks by Tamara Al-Samerraei, Catherine Cattaruzza, Hatem Imam, and Lara Tabet, as well as artist duos Rayya and Zeina Badran, and Nadim Mishlawi and Sharif Sehnaoui. The works explored the unique sounds, bodies, and stories that inhabit AUBMC's environment. Their site-specific works reframed the medical center's space as one of reflection, interaction, and emotional resonance.
By embedding contemporary art within a clinical setting, “public health" promotes medical-oriented research in the art field, fosters innovative collaborations between artists, curators, and healthcare professionals, and grants patients and visitors access to meaningful artistic engagement in an environment often associated with stress and routine.
President Khuri said, “Today, we are not just launching a collection of art. We are renewing a promise. A promise to build a healthcare system that is compassionate, patient-centered, engaging, and a genuinely human place to receive care. I want to thank everyone who helped bring this vision to life: our partners at TAP, the artists, our generous donors, and, of course, the leadership team at AUBMC—thank you for believing in this project from the start."
"This is not art as an ornament. This is art as infrastructure—as a vital, integrated part of how we imagine healing. Through intentional and inspired interventions—through art—we can reclaim hospitals as places of meaning, of comfort, of connection," Ali Taher added.
“By inviting artists to engage with the medical center as a site, not just a backdrop, 'public health' opens up a field of inquiry that is both urgent and under-explored. The project reveals how contemporary art can intervene meaningfully in the hospital environment: from participatory processes with staff and patients, to sensory and spatial interventions that challenge how we experience care," explained Amanda Abi Khalil.
This idea was instigated by Dina Zameli at the inauguration of President Fadlo R. Khuri and was generously supported by AUBMC, Hamzah Dayyeh, Nafiz Mustafa Jundi, Michel Khallouf, Elie Khalil Khoury, Henrietta Abela Nammour, Mohamad Ali and Dina Zameli, and Commercial Insurance.
As a milestone in AUBMC's legacy, this project highlights the institution's commitment not only to medical excellence, but also to cultural innovation and community connection, reaffirming AUBMC's role as a pioneer in healthcare. -- AUBMC
