Art Beyond the Gallery: A Series of Artworks at Shubak Café
Over three months, a series of artworks was presented in an everyday public setting at Shubak Café in Tripoli, opposite the Arch of Marcus Aurelius.
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Over the past three months, I presented a series of my artworks at Shubak Café, located opposite the Arch of Marcus Aurelius in Tripoli.
The exhibition was not held in a traditional gallery space, but rather in an open, everyday environment frequented naturally by the public.
The idea stemmed from a desire to explore the presence of art beyond the white cube, and to relocate it into a public setting where it becomes part of daily life.
The space was not directed toward a specific art audience, but toward café visitors and passersby, allowing for spontaneous and unfiltered engagement with the works.
Throughout the exhibition period, the interaction varied:
Some visitors stopped to ask questions,
Conversations emerged around certain pieces,
Others documented the works through photographs or returned to view them again.
Displaying the works opposite the Arch of Marcus Aurelius added a symbolic dimension to the experience:
A historic monument standing in permanence, facing contemporary artistic expression documenting the present moment — particularly as most of the works were executed in charcoal, a medium direct and closely tied to reality.
The exhibited works are available for acquisition, allowing them to move into new spaces and begin a different chapter in homes, offices, or cultural settings.
This transition is part of the concept itself — that the artwork remains dynamic and not confined to a single location.
This experience represents a step within a broader direction toward placing art in public spaces and reintegrating it into the everyday fabric of the city.
In this context, art is not a separate event, but a natural presence within the public landscape.
