Poster competition in Rmeileh draws on participants' talent to promote a peaceful Lebanon

The La Voile beach resort on Sunday was not your regular Rmeileh beach. As the sun set, booths were set up and canvases were displayed making way for what was billed as the first poster contest ever to be held in the Middle East. ArabAd and Art Lounge invited people from all walks of life to submit their visions of peace and celebrate 50 years of the iconic peace sign.

The grass underfoot, the pool and the seafront set the ambience for the night along with music that harkened back to the 1970s. MixFM's Nemr Abu Nassar, who volunteered to host the night for peace, introduced the first event. A group of bare-footed musicians dressed in white took to the grass with South American instruments.

They then broke into song, charming the senses with words of peace. From the semi-circle they had created, two positioned themselves in the center and suddenly sprung into handstands. Known as the Capoeira Sobreviventes, the Brazilian martial arts group combines music, singing and fighting into their repertoire.

Supporters of the event, Print Works, Smart, and Impact BBDO, all aided in decorating the venue. Print Works provided a pacifism-championing banner titled "Peace Works." Smart had a stand where a graffiti artist rendered a Smart car with a 1970s design. Impact BBDO provided small advertisements supporting the peace initiative in Lebanon and also had a stand where people could create a small sign with their idea of peace.

Attention was also directed to three 3-by-5 meter box canvases that were being sprayed on by some of the best graffiti artists in Beirut. While graffiti is often seen as vandalism by the public, Ghada Azzi, managing editor of pan-Arab trade magazine ArabAd and organizer of the event, wanted to change attitudes about street art.

"I want people to get used to graffiti as art and not as something bad," she said. An artist herself, Azzi has a great passion for topics that struggle to see the light of day - and peace is definitely one of them.

As people kept them selves busy digesting their ideas accompanied by 961 Beer, a ceremonial red and white tape was cut, signaling the start of the contest. Artists from all over the Middle East had submitted work in the contest, in which the only requirement was to incorporate a peace sign into the poster. Artist or not, anyone with an imagination and a little creativity was welcome to enter.

Ninety-four flamboyant pieces were positioned high and proud, ready for criticism. Nemr's voice echoed as people indulged themselves into the canvasses, "Some of the art here is simply breathtaking."

The ten best movie posters were announced once everyone had a chance to inspect them. Some analyzed the components of the works while others simply commented on phrases such as "Give Peace A Chance" and "Carry Peace In Your Heart Not Weapons In Your Hands."

A pizza lay on one canvas, printed against a white background, and cut into the peace sign itself. One piece was America, another Europe, Asia, and Australia, while the remnants of the pizza were Africa.

"That was a very emotional poster and it touched me deeply," Yasmine Kassem said.

With a cash prize for first place of $1,000, $750 for second, and $500 for third, the crowd was anxious to see which posters would win the contest.

Ruel Sunga, an art director for the AGA advertising company in Dubai, took first place but, however, was not able to attend the event.

Second place went to Joelle Jammal, currently at Drive Communication in Beirut. The fourth and fifth place posters were also under the name of the Lebanese-based artist.

"I longed for peace as a citizen," she said, adding that was reason for why she had entered her art in the contest. One of her winning posters was the scope of a gun which was gradually blended into the peace sign. "The last war was basically a street war with guns. My art is a reaction to what I'm living in and a statement to the public."

The third place prize was awarded to an entry from Kuwait by Ricky Halabi.

As the night dwindled on, smiles of success were pasted on the faces of the ArabAd team. Azzi said while she was delighted with the turnout, she still had higher aspirations.

"I want to push people and the mind of the designer," Azzi said of the participants.

Beginning the campaign for raising awareness about the issue of peace in Kuwait, Azzi said that it was difficult to bring the event to Lebanon.

"Participation was [more] minimal from ad agencies than the public," she said, adding that money often became a problematic issue.

Azzi said that she would be holding the same collection of posters at the Art Lounge galleryfor one month.

The organizer of the peace event added that she plans on touring the Middle East in order to "open people's minds."

August 25, 2008