London Launches “Ibraaz”: Lina Lazaar Calls for a Cultural Bridge Between Nations and Ideas
London hosted a landmark cultural event on Wednesday, October 1, as Ibraaz, the branch of the Kamel Lazaar Foundation for Art and Culture, officially launched in the British capital. The evening brought together leading artists, intellectuals, journalists, and media figures, offering a platform to showcase the foundation’s mission and upcoming initiatives designed to support the arts, literature, and cross-cultural dialogue.
In her opening remarks, Lina Lazaar, Vice President of the Kamel Lazaar Foundation and President of Ibraaz, laid out the vision behind the initiative. She described Ibraaz as “a page of discovery, a platform connecting nations and ideas, and a bridge linking diverse cultural and artistic experiences,” adding that its core aim is “to showcase the brilliance of creativity and thought.”
“Ibraaz”: A New London Initiative for Cultural Dialogue and Contemporary Art
Launching Ibraaz in London, Lazaar explained, is part of the foundation’s ongoing effort to promote intercultural dialogue and elevate contemporary art from the Middle East and North Africa on the global stage. She emphasized the creation of “an inclusive space—a home for creativity and thought—that welcomes artists, thinkers, and researchers, fostering the exchange of ideas and collaborative projects exploring art, identity, and modernity.”
Closing her speech, Lazaar invited participants to engage with the initiative and its programs, underlining that “Ibraaz is not merely an institution, but a shared experience that welcomes everyone wishing to be part of it.”
From Tunis to Venice: The Kamel Lazaar Foundation’s Journey in Supporting Arab Art
Founded in 2005 in Tunis and Geneva, the Kamel Lazaar Foundation is one of the Arab world’s leading cultural institutions. Its collection spans more than 1,200 works of art, and the foundation has established pioneering platforms including Jaou, B7L9, and Future Lab Tunisia. It also played a key role in Tunisia’s return to the Venice Biennale after decades, strengthening the international presence of Tunisian and Arab art.
The London launch highlights a strategic effort to reinforce Arab cultural presence in the UK and beyond. Initiatives like Ibraaz position art and culture as tools for dialogue and understanding, challenging stereotypes about the region while encouraging collaboration between Middle Eastern artists and their European peers. With sustained institutional and media support, these efforts could lay the foundation for lasting cultural bridges between Britain and the Arab world.
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