Dr. Pamela Chrabieh

We are celebrating Kulturnest’s second anniversary today. We opened in autumn 2023 after eight months of dust, drills, and heroic negotiations with paint, while ‘wise’ people advised us to “wait for better timing.” Better timing, where exactly? We looked around – war, economic freefall, a State playing hide-and-seek, a budget that squeaked… – and did it anyway. Sensible? Not particularly. Necessary? Absolutely.

Since then, we have staged exhibitions and art markets that began with “Just five minutes” and ended an hour later with someone adopting a tiny ceramic bowl and three zines. The soundtrack nobody ordered – generators, water cisterns, the occasional “Is that the drone again?” – became part of the ambiance. Curating has included hanging a show in forty minutes before the next explosion; diplomacy has included handling wakko cases … many, many wakko cases… We have learned to nod, breathe, develop 10-page agreements, and label shelves clearly.

The best part is still the people. More than 235 artists – local, expat, international – brought work that refuses to whisper. Visitors came curious and left opinionated (our favorite combination). Clients chose handmade over mass-made and, occasionally, over brand worship (saints be praised!). Friends and family carried plinths, brewed emergency coffee, and heroically avoided saying “I told you so.”

Also true: these two years ended a few “friendships”, the kind that evaporate when there’s nothing to extract. We grieved briefly, then got on with it. In their place, new friendships arrived: the sort built on showing up, sharing tools, swapping ladders, and arguing kindly about a brushstroke before laughing at the power cut.

Why bother with art now, here? Because art isn’t décor for calm rooms; it’s a working tool for difficult days. It sharpens attention, rearranges the noise, and returns a person to themselves with a little more oxygen. It is not a slogan, a luxury, or a side quest. It’s maintenance for the human spirit, like tightening a loose hinge in the mind, and it tends to do its best work precisely when the world is uncooperative.

Year three won’t be quieter (we have learned not to tempt fate), but it will be deeper. There will hopefully be more room for emerging voices, more tiny victories facing the war schedule, and more practice at that underrated craft called care & solidarity.

Thank you for the courage, the humor, the patience, the extension cords, and the honest conversations. Thank you to the artists who kept making, the visitors who kept looking, the clients who kept choosing the handmade, unique, and limited edition pieces, and the new friends who kept turning up even when the lights didn’t. You’re the reason this nest is still warm, wired, and wonderfully alive.

kulturnest.com | @thekulturnest | +9613008245

Drs. Pamela & Michèle Chrabieh, Kulturnest Co-Founders