Spoleto reveals 2024 poster by Lebanese visual artist
May 28, 2024
Spoleto Festival USA General Director & CEO Mena Mark Hanna has unveiled the Festival’s 2024 season poster featuring an abstract composition of mixed media on paper by visual artist Sara Chaar. The artwork, Yellow Plastic, is from the artist’s Imagined Certainty series, which reflects her native Lebanon’s turbulent history, including the recent economic collapse, the infamous explosion, and the impact of COVID-19. The poster, unveiled at the “Spoleto Piazza” (a time-delineated design for the iconic Market Circle) at The Charleston Place, is now available for purchase ($35) at spoletousa.org, at Spoleto’s ticket kiosk at the Charleston Visitors Center, or by calling 843.579.3100.
Yellow Plastic by Sara Chaar
Chaar’s series Imagined Certainty uses vibrant colors and floating fantasy forms to explore how collective memory navigates paths to certainty amidst the challenges of adapting to new realities. This artistic journey contemplates the solace found in an envisioned certainty within the turbulent currents of change. Through this series, the artist invites the viewer to contemplate these imaginary forms and lines, and perhaps locate their personal emotional place of comfort and certainty.
“Sara’s work beautifully resonates with the themes we are exploring this year at Spoleto,” says Spoleto Festival USA General Director & CEO Mena Mark Hanna. “Shared humanity amidst political strife features in both our world premiere works of Ruinous Gods and The Song of Rome. We are thrilled that Sara’s work is a visual cue for these crucial conversations.”
In discussing Yellow Plastic, Chaar explained, “I am intrigued by reshaping and abstracting hidden layers, revealing my emotions through collective and personal stories intertwined within the depths of history and identity.”
Chaar (b. 1986) is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, installation, and interactive projects. Chaar’s work emerges from her personal experiences that often explore themes of collective identity, memory, and the human experience within challenging socio-political contexts. Chaar has exhibited in Beirut, London, New York, Copenhagen, and Paris. Her work has also been acquired by Public Collections like the Museum of the Institut du monde arabe in Paris.
The Spoleto Festival USA Poster program is generously made possible in part by The Wayne and Alicia Gregory Family Foundation.
About Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to create an American counterpart to the annual Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, which he had founded in 1958. Now in its 48th year, Spoleto Festival USA is internationally recognized as America’s premier performing arts festival. For 17 days and nights each spring, Spoleto Festival USA fills Charleston’s historic theaters, churches, and outdoor spaces with performances in opera; theater; dance; and chamber, symphonic, choral, and jazz music. Spoleto’s mission is to present programs of the highest artistic caliber while maintaining a dedication to young artists, a commitment to all forms of the performing arts, a passion for contemporary innovation, and an enthusiasm for providing unique performance opportunities for established artists. Beyond its role as a launching pad for young talent, Spoleto also serves as a catalyst for cultural change and has aided in Charleston’s flourishing as a top arts and culture destination. With General Director & CEO Mena Mark Hanna at its helm, the 2024 season takes place from May 24 to June 9 in various locations on the downtown peninsula. Spoleto Festival USA is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.
