Museums Victoria announced in October 2018 that its Immigration Museum would present the first Australian exhibition of Kahlil Gibran's artworks and manuscripts — more than fifty pieces, on loan from the Gibran Museum in Bsharri, never before seen in this country.
Kahlil Gibran Collective · Museums Victoria press release, 26 October 2018
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KAHLIL GIBRAN COLLECTIVE
By the Kahlil Gibran Collective · Kahlil Gibran Collective · 2018 · kahlilgibran.com
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Museums Victoria is partnering with the Gibran National Committee and the Gibran Museum in Lebanon to present an exhibition of the artworks and manuscripts of Kahlil Gibran.
Kahlil Gibran's seminal book, The Prophet, has been translated into a hundred languages, and his poetry and philosophy are much loved around the world.
Born in 1883 in Bsharri, Lebanon, Gibran migrated to America with his mother and three siblings in 1895. From his early years he was passionate about creating art through painting and writing, and went on to study art in Boston, where he was inspired by the European Symbolists. The first exhibition of his work appeared in 1904, and it was around this time that he began to publish his literary and poetic works.
Gibran's life and art were substantially supported by Mary Haskell, a progressive school headmistress, who became a financial benefactor while also providing editorial support for Gibran's English-language manuscripts. The Prophet was published in 1923 to immediate international acclaim and has remained in print ever since, selling millions of copies.
Gibran died in New York in 1931, aged forty-eight. At his request he was interred at the Monastery of Mar Sarkis in Bsharri, the site of the Gibran Museum.
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Exclusively commissioned by Museums Victoria's Immigration Museum, the exhibition will run between November 2018 and March 2019, and present more than fifty artworks and manuscripts never before seen in Australia. More than simply the opportunity to see extraordinary works, the exhibition tells a powerful migrant story, focusing on the art, philosophy and poetry of a man influenced by different cultures.
The Immigration Museum will host a dynamic programme of events to complement the exhibition and create awareness and understanding of this talented Lebanese artist and, more broadly, of Lebanese culture. Featuring local and international guests, the programme will include public forums and partnerships with festivals and with organisations such as the Australian Lebanese Historical Society.
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The exhibition is proudly presented by the Bank of Sydney and has the support of the Honourable Steve Bracks AC, acting Ambassador Ms Lou-ellen Martin in Lebanon, the Australian Lebanese Historical Society, and the Australia Lebanon Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It received grant funding from the Council for Australian-Arab Relations of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Both the exhibition and its programming were developed with the support of an External Reference Group. The Immigration Museum thanks the following for their participation: the Hon Steve Bracks AC, the Hon Faddy Zouky OAM, John Haddad AO, Nadine Samaha, Bernadette Khoury, Glen Kalem-Habib, Nour Abouzeid, and Danielle Rizk.
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Media enquiries: Sandie Hall, General Manager Development, Museums Victoria · +61 3 8341 7303 · shall@museum.vic.gov.au. Press release issued 26 October 2018; the translation figure quoted is the one current at that date. See also the opening night report.
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