A New Era for Artistic Education and Academic Research

The National Art School of Paris (ENDA) is proud to announce its partnership with the Centre for Research and Creation (ALBA – University of Balamand) in Beirut, within the Atelier de Recherche et de Création Art Invisuel (ARCAI).

ARCAI is a research-creation project initiated by invisual artist Ricardo Mbarkho, in collaboration with Alexandre Gurita, invisual artist and director of ENDA.

The artists met in 1998 while studying at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Paris (ENSBA) and experimented with innovative artistic approaches to break free from the confines of contemporary art.

Their explorations led to the emergence of a new art genre, which Alexandre Gurita termed « invisual art » in 2004. Today, invisuel art encompasses an ecosystem of artists and institutions worldwide, evolving the definition of art.

The Atelier de Recherche et de Création Art Invisuel (ARCAI) is led by Ricardo Mbarkho, with Alexandre Gurita as the principal contributor, and includes invisual artists, educators, students, art theorists, and historians such as Roxane Vidalon, Gary Bigot, Rose Marie Barrientos, Éric Monsinjon, Corina Chutaux Mila, Paul Ardenne, Mariem Memni, Ghislain Mollet-Viéville, Yosr Mahmoud, Loli Tsan, and Gilbert Coqalane.

ARCAI serves as a space for research and artistic creation, highlighting art forms that utilize alternative socioeconomic models to those of visual arts, particularly those independent of the art market’s constraints.

Since the 19th century, the art market has imposed a limiting definition of art. The Atelier de Recherche et de Création Art Invisuel (ARCAI) explores the possibilities of art when liberated from these restrictive frameworks. This workshop fosters interactions between art and practices often perceived as non-artistic according to contemporary social conventions.

The Atelier de Recherche et de Création Art Invisuel (ARCAI) is supported by the following partners: Paris Biennale, National Art School of Paris (ENDA), Paris Review, and MACAM (Modern and Contemporary Art Museum) in Byblos, Lebanon.

For more information:

Web : http://crc.alba.edu.lb/html/fr/recherche_et_creation/arc/ARC1041-1_art_invisuel.html

Emails: Center for Research and Creation (ALBA – University of Balamand), Beirut: crc@alba.edu.lb
National Art School of Paris (ENDA): secr@enda.fr