VOA · Arts & Culture
Intermediate · B1–B2learner speed4:092024-11-14public domain
The Arts & Culture beat covers music, film, museums, food, and traditions from the United States and around the world. The reports are short, vivid, and full of everyday descriptive language — great for learners who want vocabulary beyond textbooks.
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01Sharbel Samuel Aoun is a working artist in the Middle Eastern nation of Lebanon.
02As the Israeli military launches a deadly attack against the militant group Hezbollah in his home country, Aoun asks, Does art still have a place in such a crisis?
03Lebanon has long played an important part in the Arab world's artistic community.
04It has been a center for arts, music, and theater, combining traditional and modern influences.
05Now, Lebanese artists are using their work as a way to express the anger and loss they feel after a year-long Israeli offensive that has killed more than 3,200 people, most of them since September.
06Aoun's works of art are directly connected to the conflicts Lebanon has seen.
07In 2013, he began gathering dust from Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon to create a series of paintings before moving on to explore other materials.
08Now, he says, You either stop everything or keep going with the little that still has meaning, he said.
09Two of his exhibitions have been canceled due to the war.
10While he once made money from selling art, he now also relies on selling honey from his beehives, which he first set up as a project to create art from beeswax.
11I can no longer rely on the art market, he said.
12Exhibition spaces across Beirut have closed in recent months.
13Their owners told Reuters there is no demand to buy art at this time.
14Even Lebanon's famous Sursak Museum has stored its collections underground.
15Lebanese singer and musician Joy Fayad has also struggled with the emotional cost of the conflict.
16It has made it difficult for her to perform for months.
17It limited my creativity.
18It was like I shut down.
19I couldn't give to others nor to myself, Fayad, 36, said.
20Instead, she threw her energy into songwriting.
21One line in a new song reads, You are from the downtrodden people, whose word has been silenced, and by their weapons, you are paying the price with your blood.
22She recently began performing again, singing for displaced and refugee children in Lebanon at an event north of Beirut.
23They're changing the atmosphere, having fun after such a difficult period, she said, especially for those who became used to the sound of bombs instead of music.
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