About
Laura Menassa is a photographer and art director based in Beirut. She is a member of WomenPhotograph.
Born into an Italian-Lebanese family, Laura found herself in a multicultural environment, raising questions about identity, body image, the notion of territory and time.
She uses her camera as a tool to dissect the world around her personal life, to understand our place within the society, to apprehend people, and to explore the different facets of life.
Her approach is defined by an exploration of the world around her, moving between documentary and intimate perspectives, from the personal to the public sphere. She delves into the unseen and the untold, questioning taboos and perceptions by examining the city, her culture, and her own body.
Publications
December 2024 - Women Photograph 2024 Year in Pictures
November 2023 - GUTS, Issue 01 by Digital Fountain
June 2023 - Liban : Place aux jeunes, special edition, 6Mois Magazine
April 2023 - Totalitaire, Revue Illusio n° 20
February 2023 - Les Moments Littéraires n° 49, Diaristes Libanais
July 2022 - Laura Menassa explore les multiples facettes du Liban, article and interview with Graine de Photographe (online)
April 2022 - Photovogue, Vogue Italia (online)
October 2021 - features about Festival des Arts de Bordeaux, Les Inrockuptibles
June 2021 - Issue 107, Open Theme, F-Stop Magazine (online)
May 2021 - PhotoVogue, Vogue Italia (online)
April 2021 - Issue 106, Self-Portraits, F-Stop Magazine (online)
December 2017 - Mini Issue 8, Nakid Magazine
November 2016 - Mini Issue 4, Nakid Magazine
Mentorships & Grants
2024 - World Press Photo x Samir Kassir Foundation Masterclass
2024 - Al mu7affiz Grant from Goethe Institute Lebanon in Lebanon
2023 - Grant from the French Institute in Lebanon [Collectif 1220]
Workshops & residencies
2023 - Residency at Hammana Artist House x British Council Lebanon [Collectif 1200] - Hammana, Lebanon
2022 - CATAPULT Visual’arts workshop with British Council Lebanon and Artlab - Beirut, Lebanon
2021 - Croiser-le-Faire, photography workshop at Fabrique POLA - Bordeaux, France
2020 - Residency at Hammana Artist House [Collectif 1200] - Hammana, Lebanon
2014 - ‘16mm’, videography and film developing workshop at Nottingham Trent University - Nottigham, UK
Exhibitions
2024 - 3nd edition of Beirut Photo Fair, Beirut Center of Photography and SOURA - Beirut, Lebanon
2023 - From the river to the sea, fundraising exhibition - Espace Niemeyer - Paris, France
2023 - Indivisible, as a part of " 16 days of activism against gender-based violence" by 1MORECUP - Ked - Beirut, Lebanon
2023 - From the river to the sea, fundraising exhibition - La Corvée - Paris, France
2023 - Stillness in the Fall [Collectif 1200], during Nehna Wel Amar Wel Jiran Festival - Ishbilia Theatre - Saïda, Lebanon
2023 - A luz ou a sombra do que foi e continua a ser [Collectif 1200], Bienal'23 Fotografia do Porto - Reitoria da Universidade do Porto - Porto, Portugal (currently)
2022 - Indivisible, as a part of " 16 days of activism against gender-based violence" in partnership with MOSAIC, German Federal Foreign office - Ked - Beirut, Lebanon
2022 - Anatomy of a Fall [Collectif 1200], British Council x Hammana Artist House as part of In Between Festival - Abroyan Factory - Beirut, Lebanon
2022 - 2nd edition of Beirut Photo Fair, Beirut Center of Photography and SOURA - Souk El Tayeb - Beirut, Lebanon
2022 - Stillness in the fall [Collectif 1200] - British Council x Hammana Artist House - Hammana, Lebanon
2022 - In light or shadow of what was and still is [Collectif 1200], 2nd Edition of NUR, PhotoEspana - Casa Arabe - Madrid, Spain
2022 - 5th edition of Festival Les Femmes s'exposent - Houlgate, France
2022 - Echoes from a crowded room [Collectif 1200], in partnership with British Council - Artlab - Beirut, Lebanon
2021 - Stillness in the fall [Collectif 1200], Festival International des Arts de Bordeaux - Fabrique POLA - Bordeaux, France
2021 - Contrasts, in partnership with Loosenart - Millepiani - Rome, Italy
2021 - 5th edition of Kifkif Market - Le Consulat - Paris, France
2021 - Paroles et regards, d'ici et d'ailleurs - L'Agora - Montpellier, France
2021 - Infinity, virtual exhibition - The Holy Art - London, UK
2020 - Les collections du 36, as a part of Un Eté Arlésien and Arles Contemporain - 36Arles - Arles, France
2020 - 1st edition of Kifkif Market - Velvet Moon - Montreuil, France
2020 - Les Recombinants, digital exhibition presented at La Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain de Marseille
2017 - Dans la tête des femmes, as a part of Femmes en Mouvement - 36Arles - Arles, France
Curations
2024 - Voices from the Levant in Beirut, Tarboush podcasts launch - KED - Beirut, Lebanon
2023 - From the river to the sea, fundraising exhibition - KED - Beirut, Lebanon
2023 - From the river to the sea, co-curated with Marwa Hanachi fundraising exhibition - La Corvée - Paris, France
2023 - Stillness in the Fall, co-curated in the framework of Collectif 1200, Nehna Wel Amar Wel Jiran Festival - Ishbilia Theatre - Saïda, Lebanon
2022 - In light or shadow of what was and still is co-curated in the framework of Collectif 1200, 2nd Edition of NUR, PhotoEspana - Casa Arabe - Madrid, Spain
2022 - Echoes from a crowded room co-curated in the framework of Collectif 1200, in partnership with British Council - Artlab - Beirut, Lebanon
2021 - Stillness in the fall co-curated in the framework of Collectif 1200, Festival International des Arts de Bordeaux - Fabrique POLA - Bordeaux, France