Hundreds of visitors were walking up and down the St. Nicolas Stairs in Gemaizeh as the Association for Development in Gemaizeh (ADG) opened its 11th annual exhibition of arts Monday.
Most people may not have come to shop, but instead just to meet friends and relatives and enjoy a warm summer evening in one of Beirut’s most idyllic settings.
But shopping would have been worth it. The variety of art on sale is astonishing. In particular, flower fans will find a painting or two for their living room, with prices starting at $250 for a single painting.
About 10 artists who specialize in painting flowers are exhibiting their work, and each one has a different approach.
Helene Edde paints pastel-ish flowers; Lylia Abdel Alsater paints them in fluorescent pink and green tones; Haider Nada has a simplistic, childlike style; and Magda Smadi paints on wood.
People with more daring taste may prefer to buy one of Mohammad Samakieh’s oil paintings ­ depicting cubic patterns in bright colors ­ or one of Marie-Joe Raidy’s assembled photographs.
Few artisans have stalls at this exhibition. But, with the start-up firm Wood Line, at least one tasteful furniture and household goods designer is selling its work, right at the bottom of the stairs also known as the Artist’s Steps.
Sybille Dagher is the owner of Wood Line, also known to Beirutis as the curator of the gallery and sales space Espace SD in Gemaizeh. She works with various artists on her product line, such as Karine Wehbe.
Wehbe has helped with the Japanese lamps, on sale for $55. Her black and white drawings of female faces can also be bought.
At the opening of the event, ADG president Joseph Raidi welcomed the guests and thanked several supporters, among them President Emile Lahoud and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. First lady Andree Lahoud also paid the stairs a visit Monday evening.

The 11th Arts Exhibition is part of the Fete de la Musique and runs in the afternoons and evenings until Sunday, June 22