Di Jimmy Dabbagh da The Daily Star (Libano) del 9 giugno 2015
Negli ultimi anni in Libano sono sempre di più le pubblicazioni in lingua inglese a discapito dell’arabo. Eppure c’è ancora un gruppo entusiasta di editori e di grafici che stanno rilanciando l’utilizzo della lingua araba in ambito editoriale.
NEW ARABIC MAGAZINE TO TAKE FLIGHT
Publications in Lebanon have tended to drift toward the English language, yet there is a lively community of publishers and graphic designers who have made imaginative inroads into Arabic print. Artist and writer Nadine Touma is among these. In 2006, Touma launched the independent publishing house Dar Onboz.Since then, she and her collaborators – designer and art director Leen Charafeddine and filmmaker Sivine Ariss – have produced an array of illustrated books, animations, films and music for children, and young adults – all exclusively in Arabic. To their multifaceted repertoire Dar Onboz will, on June 13, add a biannual magazine entitled “Majallet Onboz.” “It’s an interdisciplinary magazine, with one theme each issue,” Touma said. The “first theme is flight. We will weave around this theme, science, architecture, art, stories, folktales, infographics, Arabic calligraphy, cartography, games, history and comics. “We are also introducing a main character that carries the spirit of Dar Onboz,” she continued. “Her name is Farida [and] she will be present in every issue. “We also have an archeology section in collaboration with the National Museum, [where] we will showcase an artifact in every issue [and] with the Arab Image Foundation with a section entitled Images from the Arab World.’” The June 13 event will also provide a platform to unveil a variety of exciting new additions to Dar Onboz. “We have three beautiful new features,” Touma said, “films of Majallet Onboz related to certain sections, recordings of three stories published in the magazine and a website with an interactive sharing platform.” Most exciting of all seems to be the launch of a new interactive digital publication application, which will be available on iTunes. “The digital publication,” she said, “resembles our vision and philosophy.” The venue for the June 13 launch, some may be surprised to learn, is the National Museum, Mathaf in local parlance. “It’s a place we love, value and respect,” Touma said. “It’s [also] a place we have realized very few people know and most people think it’s uninteresting, ugly and boring, which is far from the truth. “We also chose it because it’s where so much of who we are [is embedded] from history of [our] art, to [our] ancestors to languages. We have [also] organized a beautiful tour of a selection of artifacts, related to flight, with the brilliant team of the museum [which] will be led by Anne Marie Afeich and Lydia Debbas.” One of the Mathaf’s galleries will be turned over to a performance of “Habbet al-Remmen.” Delivered in the manner of the Hakawti (traditional storyteller), this performance will be set to live musical accompaniment. “It’s a contemporary folktale I wrote based on [the] typical story of a couple married with no children,” Touma elaborates, “and how their story unravels and the mystery question of ‘How did the partridge get red feet, [a] red beak and a red circle around its eyes?’” For visitors that feel like catching some fresh air while enjoying the festivities, a slew of interactive activities will be staged in the public garden across the street from the museum. Among the activities listed in the program are “history of flight with jeu de l’oie,” “the interactive digital publication of Majallet Onboz,” “a voyage in a hot air balloon,” “a photo with a plane from 1927,” “silkscreen printing on a T-shirt or tote bag,” an “origami pigeon” and the “Dar Onboz dikkeneh.” Those wanting to know more about these activities will just have to wait until the special date. “I don’t want to ruin the surprise,” Touma said, “but there will be lots of activities and gorgeous items for sale.” Majallet Onboz will be launched June 13 at the National Museum, with activities running down the street at the public garden. For further information contact 01-380-533.
