Levantine Center Showcases Three Hybrid Artists

Artist Vahe Berberian. Photo Samir Twair

The Levantine Cultural Center has succeeded again—this time with a unique art exhibit entitled “Inside/Outside & Other Oxymorons.” The center’s latest offering features the work of three hybrid multicultural artists: Sama Alshaibi, Vahe Berberian and Adnan Charara.

Only Berberian was on hand for the June 20 opening reception where the multi-talented artist, playwright, novelist, journalist and comedian discussed his whimsical paintings. Born in Beirut to an Armenian family, Berberian studied art and worked in Lebanon as a graphic artist. He emigrated to Los Angeles in 1976, earned a degree in journalism and worked as a journalist until the early 1990s.

A favorite at the exhibition was a triptych photo of Bedouins in Wadi Rum by Alsaibi, who was born in Basra, Iraq in 1973 to a Palestinian mother and an Iraqi father. She holds a master of fine arts degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and is an assistant professor of art at the University of Arizona at Tucson.

Adnan Charara was born in Lebanon in 1962 and grew up moving between Lebanon and Sierra Leone in West Africa. His whimsical sculptures combine influences from African tribal art, Islamic calligraphy and European cubist artists. He holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in architectural design from Boston University and resides in Dearborn, MI.

—Pat McDonnell Twair