The Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA; french: Académie libanaise des Beaux-Arts; ar, الأكاديمية اللبنانية للفنون الجميلة) was originally a stand-alone Lebanese

institute An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

, now one of the faculties at the

University of Balamand The University of Balamand (UOB; ar, جامعة البلمند) is a private institution, secular in its policies and approach to education. It welcomes faculty, students, and staff from all faiths and national or ethnic origins. The university i ...

, teaching courses in

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

. It was founded in 1937, and it was the first national institution of

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

in Lebanon. In 1988, it joined the

during its foundation as one of the three founding faculties at the time. The faculty currently offers several programs in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

in its original location in

Sin el Fil Sin el-Fil ( ar, سنّ الفيل / ALA-LC: ''Sinn al-Fīl'') is a suburb east of Beirut in the Matn District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon. Overview Etymology The name literally means 'ivory': "tooth" (''sinn'') of "the elephant" ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. They include, but are not limited to,

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

decorative art ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usual ...

plastic arts Plastic arts are art forms which involve physical manipulation of a plastic medium by molding or modeling such as sculpture or ceramics. Less often the term may be used broadly for all the visual arts (such as painting, sculpture, film and pho ...

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

and

regional planning Regional planning deals with the efficient placement of land-use activities, infrastructure, and settlement growth across a larger area of land than an individual city or town. Regional planning is related to urban planning as it relates land ...

, Graphic Design, Digital art direction, Fashion design and audiovisual directing. In October 2000, the University of Balamand launched new programs in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

for the faculty at its main campus in

El-Koura Koura District ( ar, ٱلْكُورَة, from gr, χώρα, lit=country) is a district in the North Governorate, Lebanon. Koura is one of the 26 districts of Lebanon, particularly known for its olive tree cultivation and olive oil producti ...

, which now consists of

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

, Interior Architecture,

Graphic Design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

and

Computer Graphics And Interactive Media A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These program ...

History

Founded in 1937 by a group of young classical musicians led by the engineer

Alexis Boutros Alexis may refer to: People Mononym * Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet * Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC * Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer * Alexis (comics) (1946–197 ...

Details on the foundations of its fields

In 1943, a branch of

was sponsored by the famous French engineer

Daniel Abou Dargham Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...

. In 1948, the school of letters was created which graduated specialists in literature, history and geography. There followed in 1949 by the school of political and

economic science Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

. In 1950, the academy set up a school of law, which was forced to close later in 1959. In a later stage, additional fields of study were added to the basic core such as the school of classic dance, the school of acting and the school of

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. The academy added new sections of

publicity In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or awareness for any product, service, person or organization (company, charity, etc.). It may also refer to the movement of information from its source to the general public, often (but not always) ...

and information in 1975, and

audio-visual Audiovisual (AV) is electronic media possessing both a sound and a visual component, such as slide-tape presentations, films, television programs, corporate conferencing, church services, and live theater productions. Audiovisual service prov ...

production in 1987, and

urban studies Urban studies is based on the study of the urban development of cities. This includes studying the history of city development from an architectural point of view, to the impact of urban design on community development efforts. The core theoretica ...

in 1994 Soon after the death of Alexis Boutros, Mr. Georges Haddad was appointed dean of Alba in 1979. He struggled during the civil war to keep the programs running. He managed to achieve the fusion with University of Balamand in 1988. In 2000, the Academy started offering the "Interior Architecture and design and Graphic Design" programs in English under supervision of Mr.

George Fiani George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

. In 2009, the Architecture and CGIM programs were offered at Balamand Campus. The same year, The long-time caretaker of ALBA, Mr. George Haddad died. Mr. Bekhazi was shortly after appointed "Dean of ALBA" by the University of Balamand. In 2014, mr. George Fiani was appointed Director of AlBA-Balamand Campus

Administrative formation

Dr. Elias L. Warrak, President of UOB, Pr. André Bekhazi, Dean of ALBA- Sin el Fil Campus, Mr. George Fiani, Director of ALBA- Balamand Campus, Alongside a great administrative and educational body, on both campuses, working, aiming and aiding the higher officers to achieve better educational experience day-by-day...

Current Programs

Majors offered at ALBA-Sin el Fil Campus (French Programs)/ Pr. André Bekhazi: 1- Architecture: Architecture ''DES Architecture, Master'' 2- Arts Décoratifs: Section Arts Graphiques et Publicité: Creation Publicitaire ''License, Master'' Graphisme/ Création Assistée par Ordinateur ''License'' Illustration - Bande Dessinée ''License, Master'' Animation 2D/3D ''License, Master'' Graphisme-Multimédia-Réseaux Sociaux ''License, Master'' Photographie ''License, Master'' Direction Artistique ''Master'' Section Architecture d'intérieur et Design produit: Architecture d'intérieur ''License, Master'' Design produit ''Master'' 3- Arts Plastiques et Appliqués: Arts Plastiques ''License, Master'' Arts Appliqués ''Master'' Nouveaux Médias ''Master'' 4- Cinema et Réalisation Audiovisuelle: Realisation Audiovisuelle ''License'' Réalisation Cinema ''Master'' Production ''Master'' Réalisation ''Master'' 5- Urbanisme: Urbanisme ''Master'' Aménagement du Paysage ''Master'' Majors offered at ALBA-:Balamand Campus (English Programs)/ Mr.

: 1- Graphic Design ''BFA, MFA'' 2- Interior Architecture and Design ''BFA, MFA'' 3- Architecture ''B.S Architecture, M.ARCH'' 4- Computer Graphics and Interactive Media ''BFA, MFA'' 5- Art Teaching Diploma ''TD'' Image:project(2).JPG, In Lebanon, ALBA is most known for its school of architecture. Image:project(1).JPG, Students of ALBA taking leading positions in many local and international institutions.

Additional references

University of Balamand: Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts website
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Alba.edu.lb: Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts website

Lebweb.com: Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts

References

{{Reflist Art schools in Lebanon University of Balamand Schools in Beirut 1937 establishments in Lebanon Arts organizations established in 1937 Educational institutions established in 1937