In this exhibition, Joyce Joumaa delves into the content of Lebanese history textbooks, specifically examining the chapters pertaining to Ottoman Empire colonization. Through this investigation, she questions the process of historical construction and mediation through language and education. By juxtaposing two influential spaces: the classroom and the living room, she sheds light on their role in shaping a child’s early political consciousness.
Plein sud warmly congratulates Joyce Joumaa for her participation in the 60th Venice Biennale Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere. The youngest artist of this edition, Joyce Joumaa presents a work as part of the 2nd edition of the Biennale College Arte 23/24.
Plein sud also invites you to read this interview with the artist produced by Didier Morelli for CBC Arts.
Biographical note
- Photo : Clara Lacasse
Joyce Joumaa is a video artist and writer based between Beirut and Montréal. After growing up in Lebanon, she pursued a BFA in Film Studies at Concordia University in Canada. Her work focuses on microhistories within Lebanon as a way to understand how past structures inform the present moment. Central to her practice is an interest towards the political charge inscribed in spaces and the social psychology that unfolds out of this tension.
Her work has been shown at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, FOFA Gallery and Dazibao. In 2023, she was a finalist for the Pierre Ayot Prize and winner of the Bourse Plein sud. In 2022, she benefited from an emerging curator residency at the Canadian Center for Architecture (CCA). In 2024, she will be participating at the 60th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennial.
Bourse Plein sud 2023
The jury for the Bourse Plein sud 2023 was made up of Sarah Kitzy Gineau-Delyon, independent curator, Benoît Jodoin, art historian and Stanley Février, visual artist.
Publication
A bilingual publication, Seuils de vision - Thresholds of Insight, accompanies Joyce Joumaa’s exhibition. It includes an analytical text by Tammer El-Sheikh, Professor of Art History at York University in Toronto. Graphic design by Allen’s Cruz. The publication is available for sale at Plein sud and online.
