Dar El-Nimer for Arts & Culture

Located in the heart of Beirut, Dar El-Nimer for Arts and Culture was founded in 2016 as an independent non-profit art foundation for historical, modern and contemporary cultural productions from Palestine and beyond. Dar El-Nimer promotes deep cultural, historical and intellectual awareness by hosting productions by artists, curators, writers, historians, performers and filmmakers, whose works engage with the challenging social realities and political currents shaping the region. Dar El-Nimer is also responsible for showcasing the El-Nimer Collection, the private art collection of the founder, Rami El-Nimer.

Objectives

  • Celebrating the region’s rich and complex cultural heritage to trace its continuity, creativity and perseverance. Dar El-Nimer challenges stereotypes through arts and culture, opening up the possibilities for deeper understanding.

  • Broadening the palette of cultural and artistic experiences. Dar El-Nimer offers a vibrant space for interaction. Alongside its annual exhibitions, its space is open for lectures, panel discussions, film screenings, musical and theatrical performances and workshops.

  • Inviting schools, universities, institutions, communities and individuals to develop an understanding of arts and culture through activities and dialogue. Dar El-Nimer engages in multidisciplinary collaborations and innovative ways of bridging society with artistic and cultural production.

The Founder and Collector

Born in Nablus, Palestine, Rami El-Nimer’s passion for collecting art began at a very young age. His collection embraces a multi-faceted identity, rooted in Palestine, harking back to a time when borders were open and the cultural exchange of art and ideas was unimpeded. His collection has grown to become a commemoration of resilience against a modern erasure of memory and the distortion of identity. 

Focused not only on growing his collection but on sharing it with the public, Rami El-Nimer founded Dar El-Nimer for Arts and Culture as a result of his passion for the arts and to encourage a constructive discussion around the collection’s items and to re-imagine a more inclusive and coherent cultural narrative for the region. 

Types of Exhibitions

  • Private Collection

    Thematic exhibitions curated from the El-Nimer Collection accompanied by an exhibition catalogue.

  • Commissioned

    Exhibitions commissioned and produced by Dar El-Nimer for Arts and Culture, approved by the board.

  • Hosted

    Exhibitions hosted by Dar El-Nimer for Arts and Culture and produced. by a second party. Selected based on Dar El-Nimer’s mission and vision.

The Building

Dar El-Nimer for Arts and Culture is located in the once-called Villa Salem, a charming building of the 1930s, built by the French architect, archaeologist and antique expert, Lucien Cavro (1905-1978) who worked in Lebanon and Syria during the French Mandate. It is one of the first buildings in Beirut to use Le Corbusier’s ‘domino effect’, lending itself perfectly to renovation.

With the opening of Dar El-Nimer for Arts and Culture, the building is preserved and revived to enter the public domain as an accessible, user-friendly and interactive public space.