AL-FAKIHA, Lebanon — “Art is not a priority for many in the northern Bekaa Valley. But we see art as the solution, especially in a region where we have a high level of crime and violence,” Mehdi Yehya, founder of Peace of Art (PoA), told Al-Monitor. “People, especially teenagers, see arms — they see conflict. The ideal person for them is someone holding a gun, a killer. But we are trying to give another example, someone holding a guitar.”
PoA, founded in 2016, is both a humanitarian organization and a fine arts academy. It aims to bring together people from different religions, sects, nationalities and backgrounds in the tumultous Baalbek district in the northern Bekaa Valley.
