Rachana, Lebanon – July 8, 2017: A group of eight Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) students, led by Paul Moawad, instructor at the Ramez Chagoury, Faculty of Architecture, Art and Design (FAAD), won the ‘Artist Richard Shilling Award’ during the recent Rachana Land Art Workshop.
FAAD Dean Dr. Jean-Pierre el-Asmar previously announced that Moawad and the following students would represent NDU: Sabine Aoun, Nour Chaarani, Ghady Errou, Lea Hanna, Nada Keyrouz, Christelle Khoury, Fouad Kfoury, and Cindy Saab.
The 8-day workshop was preceded by a one-day lecture on May 25, 2017, where participants, media, and interested guests were introduced to the project by the organizers and by British Land Art pioneer Richard Schilling who accompanied the participating teams throughout the project.
This workshop consisted of an installation art, or more specifically Land artworks, created by students of Architecture, Interior Design, Graphic Design, and Art from five major Lebanese universities; namely, Institut National des Beaux Arts (INBA), Lebanese American University (LAU), Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts (ALBA), Université Saint Esprit - Kaslik (USEK), and NDU. The universities were represented by selected teams who were provided with a plot of land in Rachana where they implemented their artwork under the supervision of Schilling, Anachar Basbous, and other jury members.
At the end of the workshop, the jury assessed their work according to a set criterion and declared the NDU team as the recipient of the prestigious award.
“Richard Shilling makes sculptures from natural materials he gathers near to where each sculpture is made… Through this ongoing relationship with nature he explores themes to do with time, ecology and the constant flux of the seasons and expresses these ideas through his unique land art images.”
Moawad said, “Spending one week producing ephemeral art guided by two great sculptors is the experience of a lifetime. It was a privilege to work with eight students driven by passion and a thirst to succeed. This win is theirs!”
Chaarani, one of the eight participating students, said, “ What started as an art competition ended up bringing a family together and at its essence lies the spirit of NDU. With the help and support of two marvelous minds in land art design and guidance from our Instructor who brought this family together, the NDU team worked hard to be honored the Richard Shilling Award!”
All artworks have remained in Rachana as part of preserving the artistic identity of the village.