Through readings, organization and presentations of a photographic archive preserved by the AIF in Beirut, the project underlines the developing practices and positions of the institution and its members since 1997. This proposal, considered a pilot project, takes the form of an ongoing case study of the AIF collection, catalogued as number 0069fa, to report on the dynamics and mechanisms involved in running this type of photography archive. The exhibition treats the 0069fa collection as a research subject still under construction. It was collectively constituted out of the actions and interests of researchers. The result was 85 sets, around 8,000 inventoried objects collected in 6 different countries by 14 researchers from 1998 to 2018. Between the lines of the documents, data, and use, archived accordingly, the spread and development of photographic practice in the Middle East and North Africa starts to appear, touching on art and memory, individuality and community, culture and history.

Jad Atoui (1993), ENGRAM collective, Parine Jaddo (1956), Yazan Kopty (1984), Randa Mirza (1978), Lara Tabet (1983)