Remembering Waddah Faris

Words by Mysa Kafil-Hussain

With a keen eye for emerging talent and a deep understanding of the region’s artistic evolution, Waddah Faris played a key role in shaping the visibility of Iraqi and Arab artists on the global stage. His work bridges tradition and modernity, preserving cultural narratives while fostering new creative expressions.

Waddah Faris was a prominent designer, writer, gallerist, artist and photographer, most active between the 1960s-1980s. He recently passed away in Barcelona, his home for several decades. Born in Syria in 1940 to an Iraqi father and Syrian mother, Faris eventually made Beirut his adopted home where he worked for various publishing houses as a designer, and in 1964, joined the team of Hiwar, a new Arabic magazine for Arab artists, poets and intellectuals. Faris transformed Hiwar’s front cover into a billboard for up-and-coming Arab artists, including Shafic Abboud, Ibrahim al-Salahi, Ismail Fattah and many others. After Hiwar was shut down in 1966, Faris joined Shi’r magazine (founded by poet Yusuf al-Khal), and later worked for al-Nahar newspaper.

Hiwar Gallery Covers — Left: May/June Edition 1963, Right: May/June Edition 1966 — showing faris’ influence 

By 1972, Faris had embedded himself within Beirut’s thriving art and culture scene, and founded Contact art gallery in Hamra with Cesar Nammour (who later founded MACAM) and Mireille Tabet. Contact exhibited artists like Dia al-Azzawi, Nadia Saikali, Hussain Madi and Farid Haddad, and became a central hub for artists and art lovers in Beirut.

Various Exhibition Flyers for Contact Gallery 

Meanwhile, Faris also became the designer for Baalbek Festival’s posters and program in 1973-74, including reproductions of Lebanese art in the programs instead of advertising, allowing him to promote local art to audiences coming from across the world.

Baalbek Festival Program

Faris then opened Riwaq Gallery with Syrian journalist and publisher, Riad al-Rayess, but the Lebanese Civil War prevented the gallery from ever opening to the public. Faris left Beirut, living briefly in the UK before moving to Paris in 1979 where he established Galerie Faris, bringing Arab art to the cultural capital of Europe.

Max Ernst at Beirut Souks 1969 

Faris was known predominantly as a talented photographer to many people, after buying his first camera in 1969 in an effort to meet and photograph German artist Max Ernst during his visit to Lebanon. They met at Beirut’s St George Hotel, becoming Ernst & his friend’s unofficial tour guide around the country, photographing their journey and simultaneously beginning his own journey with photography.

Left to right: Huguette Caland, Dia Azzawi, Cesar Nammour, Ismail Fatah, Paul Guiragossian, Aref El Rayess, Saloua Raouda Choucair, Shafic Abboud 

During the following years in Beirut, Faris photographed prominent artists, writers and intellectuals such as Aref El Rayess, Amine El Bacha, Paul Guiragossian, Saloua Raouda Choucair, Ghassan Tueni, Onsi el-Hajj, Huguette Caland, Mona Hatoum, Faeq Hassan, and many, many more. He also photographed some of Baalbek Festival’s most prolific performances – including Charles Mingus in 1974 – and also documented Baalbek’s famous Palymra Hotel, as well as Beirut’s Horseshoe Café and Masrah Beirut. Through Faris’ lens, Lebanon’s art and culture scene and all its main players were captured at their peak.

Baalbek Festival — Left: Rehearsal time in Baalbek, 1974, Right: Charlie Mingus (center) and George Adams (left), performing at the Bacchus Temple, Baalbek, 1974

Faris had a solo exhibition of his photography at Saleh Barakat Gallery in Beirut in 2017, with a film made by his son following his father around the city in the lead up to the exhibition. In 2021, Faris was interviewed for afikra’s conversation series, speaking to a captive audience about his life’s colorful and creative journey as one of the Arab world’s foremost cultural figures.

Photos courtesy @waddahfarisphotography and Azzawi Archive London

Waddah Faris & Iraq

Waddah Faris always felt a strong connection to Iraq – culturally but also in regards to his identity. He described himself as a Syrian-born Iraqi, even though he only really lived in Iraq for a few years as a kid. He did travel there very often, however, especially in the 70s and particularly to discover its incredible art and literary scenes and get to know the masters that lived and worked there. 

Waddah Faris took this photograph at the Tigris river, showing wish candles floating from Khedir-Elias to the Kathim domes.