The Arab Image Foundation works to preserve the true image of the region’s past
CAIRO: Photographic images were instrumental in recording the social, cultural, economic and political transformation as it struggled with the incursion of the modern era between 1860 and 1960.
The Ottoman Empire, once so powerful, began to waver. Egyptians strove to form a national identity, and then battled for independence. The Suez Canal was built and, less than a century later, was the site of Egypt’s assertion of independence from foreign powers. Modern industry began to overtake agriculture production as the economic landscape was reshaped. Social revolutions took place as Egyptian women shed their yashmaks, men tired of their traboushes, and the strict lines that defined socioeconomic classes began to blur. The Arab Image Foundation (AIF) houses a collection of photographs which documents the Arab world during those times.
AIF was formed in 1997 upon the initiative of two Lebanese photographers, Fouad El-Khoury and Samer Mohdad, and a Lebanese video artist Akram Zaatari. The objective is “to collect, preserve, study and promote photographic works – amateur and professional – produced by the residents of the Middle East and North Africa, explains Zeina Arida, director of AIF and a member of the Board.
She places specific emphasis on “residents. Whereas there is an abundance of work by European travelers visiting the region, which are preserved in museums and collections around Europe and North America, “these images don’t show the reality of the Arab world but rather an image, an idea these travelers had of the Arab world, Arida elaborates.
Of the 150,000 photographs from across Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Iran, Iraq and Morocco currently in AIF’s collection, 10,000 come from Egypt. “The photographic collection we have acquired of Egypt is of great historical, cultural and social significance. The photographs offer an iconographic reading of the history of Egyptian society over a number of decades, states Arida. “They also reveal the different aesthetic of photographic practices and trends that were developed by prominent Egyptian or Egyptian-based photographers. AIF researchers meet photographers, photography collectors and others who are likely to have work they can contribute. Mainly the foundation asks for works to be either donated, only in rare cases does it purchase photographic collections. This is understandable given that it is a non-profit foundation, which relies on financial support from Audi Bank in Lebanon and its Committee Funders, as well as grants and income from projects to cover its operating costs. In Egypt the Ford Foundation’s Cairo office provides funding for the foundation’s programs.
The foundation is more than a photographic archive, however. Aside from locating and negotiating access to public and private collections, the foundation researches and documents the biographies and working methods of photographers, restores and preserves the images, and some are digitized and entered into a database for greater accessibility.
The American University in Cairo’s Rare Books Library holds the collection of Egyptian-Armenian photographer Van Leo (1921-2002). In 2003 the AUC deposited a large portion of that collection with AIF. Van Leo is also the photographer of what Arida considers to be the most valuable photograph in the foundation’s Egypt collection, “Nubar – Immigrated to the USA.
“[It’s] an original print that Van Leo was very fond of, that he retouched and worked on himself. A rare and valuable original print, Arida adds.
The collection of photographs is available to the general public through the AIF website (www.fai.org.lb). Registration is free of charge, but the images in the online database are for viewing purposes only. Images can only be downloaded and used with AIF’s permission. The foundation sells the rights of usage in artistic projects, in films, and publications, and shares the copyright royalties it receives with the photographer or collector.
“The Arab Image Foundation’s collection shows a different facet of societies in the Middle East that has been occulted by stereotypical images, explains Arida. The Foundation wants to create an alternative collection that is more reflective of historical reality, and that can counter the misperceptions of the Middle East.
“[People] usually recognize the types of images they saw [in the collection] in their family photo albums, Arida proudly states, “Or on the contrary are very surprised to seen an aspect of their country and region they were not aware of.
The Arab Image Foundation is a non-profit organization established in Lebanon in 1997. The Foundation aims to locate, collect, preserve and promote the photographic heritage of the Middle East and North Africa. You can visit their extensive collection on www.fai.org.lb, Over the next coming weeks, in collaboration with AIF, THE DAILY STAR EGYPT will be featuring a selection of photographs from the foundation’s collection.
