Beirut: The American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC), in collaboration with TAP (Temporary Art Platform), has launched 'Public Health,' an art and medicine project that is a first-of-its-kind initiative in Lebanon and the region. This project consists of contemporary art interventions for the Halim and Aida Daniel Academic and Clinical Center (ACC) at AUBMC.
According to National News Agency - Lebanon, the launch event was attended by AUB President Fadlo R. Khuri, AUB Medical Center Director Joseph Otayek, Associate Vice President for Academic Centers, Development, and External Affairs Ali Taher, TAP Founder and Curator Amanda Abi Khalil, and other esteemed AUB and AUBMC faculty members and leadership.
'Public Health' involves a series of site-specific commissions by eight contemporary artists who were invited in 2017 to examine and challenge the medical center setting as a non-place, a concept defined by anthropologist Marc Aug© as a space people pass through without forming lasting social connections or a sense of belonging.
The project, initiated in 2017 and brought to fruition through the vision of Curator Amanda Abi Khalil and Associate Curator Nour Osseiran of TAP, unveiled six artworks by artists Tamara Al-Samerraei, Catherine Cattaruzza, Hatem Imam, Lara Tabet, Rayya and Zeina Badran, Nadim Mishlawi, and Sharif Sehnaoui. These works explore the unique sounds, bodies, and stories that inhabit AUBMC's environment, reframing the medical center's space as one of reflection, interaction, and emotional resonance.
By embedding contemporary art within a clinical setting, 'Public Health' promotes medical-oriented research in the art field, encourages innovative collaborations between artists, curators, and healthcare professionals, and provides patients and visitors with access to meaningful artistic engagement in an environment often associated with stress and routine.
President Khuri stated, "Today, we are not just launching a collection of art. We are renewing a promise. A promise to build a healthcare system that is compassionate, patient-centered, engaging, and a genuinely human place to receive care. I want to thank everyone who helped bring this vision to life: our partners at TAP, the artists, our generous donors, and, of course, the leadership team at AUBMC-thank you for believing in this project from the start."
Ali Taher added, "This is not art as an ornament. This is art as infrastructure-as a vital, integrated part of how we imagine healing. Through intentional and inspired interventions-through art-we can reclaim hospitals as places of meaning, of comfort, of connection."
Amanda Abi Khalil explained, "By inviting artists to engage with the medical center as a site, not just a backdrop, 'Public Health' opens up a field of inquiry that is both urgent and under-explored. The project reveals how contemporary art can intervene meaningfully in the hospital environment: from participatory processes with staff and patients, to sensory and spatial interventions that challenge how we experience care."
This initiative was inspired by Dina Zameli at the inauguration of President Fadlo R. Khuri and generously supported by AUBMC, Hamzah Dayyeh, Nafiz Mustafa Jundi, Michel Khallouf, Elie Khalil Khoury, Henrietta Abela Nammour, Mohamad Ali and Dina Zameli, and Commercial Insurance.
As a milestone in AUBMC's legacy, this project underscores the institution's commitment not only to medical excellence but also to cultural innovation and community connection, reaffirming AUBMC's role as a pioneer in healthcare.