Flesh Flowers: The Aïshti Foundation Marks a Decade of Art and Resilience

Art & Lifestyle

In Beirut, a city where resilience and creativity intertwine, the Aïshti Foundation celebrates ten years with Flesh Flowers, a landmark exhibition honouring women artists and the enduring spirit of Lebanon.

Even amid a turbulent global landscape, Beirut continues to prove that creativity can thrive even in uncertainty. On the 27th of October, the Aïshti Foundation celebrated its tenth anniversary with Flesh Flowers, an exhibition curated by Massimiliano Gioni and Roberta Tenconi, and hosted by founders Tony and Elham Salamé.

This visit to Beirut held personal significance. With Lebanese roots and a family name once spelt Fiani, the return felt like a homecoming, a moment of reconnection with a heritage shaped by art, resilience, and memory. Attending the Aïshti Foundation’s tenth anniversary was not only an invitation to celebrate contemporary culture but also a journey back to identity, to a city whose creative pulse continues to beat through adversity.

The event drew artists, curators, collectors, and international guests to the Lebanese capital for a weekend of art, culture, and connection — a powerful reminder of Beirut’s enduring role as a cultural hub and symbol of resilience. For many, it marked not only the reopening of the Foundation’s museum space after a period of interruption, but also a reaffirmation of Lebanon’s creative spirit.

At the heart of the Aïshti Foundation are Tony and Elham Salamé, a couple whose vision has transformed Lebanon’s cultural identity. Through their pioneering work in art, fashion, and philanthropy, they have created a bridge between Beirut and the international creative community. Their dedication extends beyond collecting contemporary art; it is about building infrastructure for creativity, supporting Lebanese artists, and opening global conversations around Middle Eastern culture. The Salamés have made art accessible to the public while preserving Lebanon’s position on the global cultural map, proving that creativity, when rooted in purpose, can become a form of resilience.

Elham andTony Salamé ©Luc Castel

The event drew journalists, artists, curators, collectors, and international guests to the Lebanese capital for a weekend of art, culture, and connection, a powerful reminder of Beirut’s enduring role as a cultural hub and symbol of endurance. For many, it marked not only the reopening of the Foundation’s museum space after a period of interruption, but also a reaffirmation of Lebanon’s creative spirit.

Arrival in Beirut

Guests arrived in Beirut on flights from across the globe, checking into the city’s iconic Phoenicia Hotel, a property that has long embodied glamour and Mediterranean elegance. The celebrations began with a private dinner hosted by Tony and Elham Salamé at their residence in Ashrafieh, a space worthy of Architectural Digest.

The home, both gallery and sanctuary, reflected the couple’s devotion to art and design. Sculptures, paintings, and installations filled every room. A standout piece, a broken gilded marble headstone by artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset, inscribed Everyone is Broke in gold, served as both satire and statement, a witty nod to the 2008 financial crisis and a reflection of the fragility and irony of modern existence.

Dinner was a celebration of Lebanese hospitality, with a lavish display of mezze including hummus, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh, labneh, and warm breads, served on a magnificent rooftop with the city as its backdrop. The air was alive with conversation, laughter, and the distant hum of Beirut’s night unfolding beyond the terrace.

Day One: History and Heritage

The following morning began with a visit to the National Museum of Beirut, one of Lebanon’s most important cultural institutions. The experience offered a deep immersion into the country’s layered history. During the intimate tour, we moved among ancient artefacts, Phoenician sculptures, and Byzantine mosaics, while the museum’s glass cases revealed remarkably preserved mummies, delicate jewellery, and ornate sarcophagi carved with mythological scenes. It was a striking reminder that Lebanon’s connection to art, both sacred and human, spans millennia.

From there, we continued to the Sursock Museum, where curator Massimiliano Gioni, renowned for his work with the Venice Biennale and Forever Valentino (alongside Pierpaolo Piccioli and Alexander Fury), led a panel discussion with several artists featured in Flesh Flowers. The panel included Joan Semmel, Dala Nasser, Katja Seib, Ser Serpas, and Mounira Al Solh, who explored how figuration and abstraction can express identity, gender, and emotion.

Lunch followed at Gossip in Downtown Beirut, a modern bistro overlooking Zaitunay Bay. Later, guests visited the Aïshti boutique, where the latest runway accessories and ready-to-wear collections reflected the seamless connection between fashion and art that has long defined the Salamés’ creative vision. It was remarkable to learn that Elham, who oversees buying for the Aïshti stores, had already secured ready-to-wear pieces released just forty-eight hours earlier, fresh from the runway to the boutique floor. In a country navigating ongoing conflict and economic strain, such precision and access felt extraordinary — a testament to Elham’s tenacity and to Lebanon’s enduring ability to create beauty against all odds.

The Exhibition: Flesh Flowers

That evening, celebrations culminated at Aïshti by the Sea, the Foundation’s spectacular waterfront complex designed by Sir David Adjaye. Its burnt-orange façade glowed against the Mediterranean dusk as guests gathered for the grand reopening and the unveiling of Flesh Flowers.

Tony Salamé ©Luc Castel

The exhibition (named after Miriam Cahn’s painting In Landschaften/Fleischblume (2004)), brought together more than 200 works by over seventy women artists from the Tony and Elham Salamé Collection. The show explored the relationship between body, painting, and materiality in an increasingly digital age.

Flesh Flowers traced the dialogue between abstraction and figuration, questioning how the physical and the emotional intersect. Featured artists included Etel Adnan, Cecily Brown, Louise Fishman, Simone Fattal, Carolee Schneemann, Amy Sillman, Charline von Heyl, and Tauba Auerbach, among many others.

The curation invited viewers into a sensorial journey where paint became flesh and gesture became thought. Joan Semmel’s vivid nudes pulsed beside Cecily Brown’s fragmented forms; Etel Adnan’s landscapes felt like lyrical odes to Lebanon; and Amy Sillman’s layered abstractions blurred emotion and intellect. The result was a meditation on presence, femininity, and power.

Tony Salamé described the show as both a tribute and a reflection:

“As we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Foundation’s home in Beirut, I thought there was no better way to honour the many great women artists in our collection. Over half of our works are by women. I am proud to celebrate the past and future of the Foundation — and the past and future of Beirut — with this extraordinary group of artists.”

The Spirit of Beirut

As the night unfolded at Aïshti by the Sea, guests drifted through the galleries and onto the terrace overlooking the Mediterranean. Music, conversation, and laughter filled the air. Despite the tension of the times, Beirut’s optimism prevailed, the kind of unshakable spirit that makes art possible even in hardship.

The Aïshti Foundation’s tenth anniversary and the exhibition Flesh Flowers embodied the essence of Lebanon itself, a nation that turns adversity into art and finds beauty in resilience.

For more information, visit HERE

Aïshti Foundation

Address: Sea side Rd Antelias LB 1202 2090, Sea Side Rd, Lebanon

Phone: +961 4 717 716 ext. 300

Words by Jheanelle Feanny