Creativity in the air

What makes for the most deplorable shortfall in all other sectors of the Lebanese economy — the infuriating lack of data — fully applies to the exercise of appraising Beirut as an artistic hub and art market. Thankfully so. Measuring art is like selling air. In the sense that, if you live in a city where the air is so bad you have to pay for oxygen, a fundamental quality of being is not available to you as it should be. The presence of art as a critical outcry and an asset class has increased in Lebanon over the past few years. Commercial galleries have sprouted in the ritzy parts of Beirut and are fighting for success in the tough economy; meanwhile, new street art has been permeating public spaces. Each of these two approaches clearly has its fan base. Yet each apparently attracts a minority. Gallerists and cultural establishment