Here’s how Janine Rubeiz, founder of the first Lebanese Cultural Center in 1967, narrates about the birth of Dar el Fan: "the Sixties witnessed in Lebanon an exceptional sparkle in the cultural field... We were many gathering for discussions at coffee salons, but everyone felt the urge of finding a place to meet that we would relate to as our own, and then there was Dar el Fan... Inaugurated in November 1967, a conference was held in the attendance of Andre Pieyre de Mandiargues." In spite of the years of war and with the destruction of Dar el Fan Premises in 1975, Janine Rubeiz decided to continue the center’s activities, in her own apartment. The public never failed to attend. They held to her faith until the war stopped. They made it to the end.

Janine Rubeiz died in 1992. Her daughter, Nadine Majdalani Begdache, her assistant since 1980, took the initiative of transforming the entire residence to an art gallery, in memory of her mother and mentor Janine Rubeiz. The 90’s marked a new era for Lebanon. The country is in a recovery period being built again, new challenges to come and a new cultural role to play ... [ Read all ]