About

Since its establishment in 2023, the Centre for Research and Creation (CRC) of the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA) – University of Balamand has been committed to offering high-quality supervision and the necessary resources to those wishing to engage in research and creation. By fostering interdisciplinarity, collaboration and the exchange of knowledge, the CRC brings various artistic disciplines together or connects them with other, non-artistic disciplines.

The arts, with their fusion of creativity and innovation, constitute a privileged field for influencing and occupying social space. The artistic research and practices that have marked history have brought to light the norms of a given society in order to question them, provoke reflection and stimulate the imagination. However, one of the essential characteristics of theoretical and practical shaping at the CRC is to explore and redefine boundaries, to challenge the dominant current that seeks to impose itself, and to denounce the automatisms of a society frozen in its codes and regulations, while valuing uncertainty, doubt and action rather than the passivity of a mere recipient.

Within the CRC, artist-researchers adopt a critical attitude towards their sociocultural environment, using it as a source of inspiration to nourish their hypotheses and reflect the “Zeitgeist”. The CRC thus opens up new perspectives, ranging from simply bringing current sensibility to light, through problematising enquiry and the critical subversion of the most stereotyped ideas and productions of our society, to forward-looking questioning of new hypotheses and forms of theoretical and practical expression.

To carry out these interdisciplinary projects successfully, the CRC puts the necessary measures in place, creates the appropriate conditions and applies suitable methodologies. This is done through ALBA’s Research Directorate, the Research Committee, the Research and Creation Directors, the facilitators, the lecturers and the enrolled students. Thanks to this solid structure, the researcher-creators can fully engage with today’s art world.

Based in Beirut, the CRC pays particular attention to the development of the creative sectors in Lebanon, as well as to their impact on the country’s social, cultural and political spheres.

It also maintains relations with its foreign counterparts and collaborates with other centres and laboratories in a spirit of multidimensional exchange.

Ricardo Mbarkho, PhD
Director of Research
Director of the Centre for Research and Creation

The CRC focuses on studying the measures and conditions that foster creative interdisciplinarity, both within the various artistic disciplines and between the arts and other, non-artistic sectors.

• Research and creation
• Documentation
• Publication and dissemination

The CRC positions itself within a desire for creative interdisciplinarity and adopts two methodological approaches: the first, followed mainly by universities, is oriented towards theory; the second, practised above all by art and design schools, is oriented towards creative practice. The CRC validates both methods and encourages the possibility of combining them in order to promote a creative-research approach that is essential today in the various fields of art and its transmission.

Within the diverse academic environment of the University of Balamand, the Centre for Research and Creation implements an interdisciplinary approach. Although the CRC focuses primarily on the field of the arts, it actively encourages the participation of students and researchers from a range of disciplines. By fostering collaborations that go beyond conventional boundaries, the CRC becomes a genuine, dynamic crossroads for the exchange of ideas and perspectives. This inclusive approach facilitates the integration of varied academic research, thereby creating a stimulating atmosphere and fostering excellence in research and creation across the entire university community.

Research mobility is a key element of the CRC’s success, enabling researchers to work in new and different environments. Mobility also creates new opportunities for collaboration, leading to the development of strong partnerships and new research projects. Moreover, mobility opens up avenues for professional development, helping researchers to stay at the forefront of their field. Overall, research mobility contributes to the CRC’s leading position in creativity and innovation.

With a forward-looking vision, the CRC positions itself as a dynamic instigator of conferences focusing on specific themes. It takes the initiative of inviting eminent speakers, while ensuring the success of these intellectual events. In order to disseminate and preserve the knowledge produced at these conferences, the CRC is actively committed to making it accessible to a wide audience. It therefore works towards its publication in various suitable formats, such as printed works, digital platforms or audiovisual media. By playing this catalytic role, the CRC nurtures the Academy’s future prospects by encouraging an ongoing dialogue within the scientific community, while stimulating the emergence of new reflections and new advances in the field of artistic and creative research.

In collaboration with ALBA’s archives and collections department and its library, the CRC facilitates researchers’ access to various essential corpora. This cooperation involves the collection, organisation and analysis of relevant information, thereby fostering knowledge management and the dissemination of results. The aim is to assist researchers and creators in accessing documentary resources and in making effective use of the research tools needed for ongoing projects. In this way, they can benefit from a solid information base for their research and creative work.

The CRC develops its own publications within ALBA. The forms of these publications are adapted to the content to be disseminated, thus offering a variety of formats according to specific needs. Among the different forms are conference proceedings, which make it possible to record the exchanges and knowledge produced at the scientific events organised by the CRC. Scientific journals are also being set up, offering a publication space dedicated to artistic and creative research. In addition, catalogues showcase the artistic achievements and productions resulting from the projects. Finally, books offer a more in-depth and structured medium for disseminating research results and academic reflections. Through these various publications, the CRC actively contributes to the dissemination of knowledge.