About

Saradar Collection is an initiative built around a private collection with a public mission to preserve, study and share modern and contemporary art from Lebanon. Continuously expanding, the collection contains more than 300 works of art by over 50 artists dating from 1917 until today. While focused primarily on Lebanese artists, Saradar Collection also contains artworks by regional and international artists with ties to Lebanon. Encompassing both traditional and new media, the collection includes works on paper, painting, photography, video, installation and sculpture.

Initiated by Mario Saradar in 2012, Saradar Collection is part of Marius Saradar Holding, a family-owned business. It started as a desire to address the lack of institutional collections in the country and to share local artwork with the public. As international interest in Lebanese art is increasing, the initiative's aim is to support local artists and ensure that a significant part of the country’s artistic heritage is preserved and shared.

Saradar Collection continues to grow in both the acquisition of works and the development of critical thinking and knowledge around the artworks, and more broadly, art in Lebanon. In addition to making the collection available to the public through the website and exhibition loan program, the collection is also the starting point for programming and research. This includes expanding the archive with previously published texts, commissioning essays and videos, publishing comprehensive books and organizing public and staff programming.

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Mario Saradar The Founder

Mario Saradar represents the third generation of a family of bankers. In 1992, at the age of 25, he took on the role of leading the family business following the sudden death of his father, Joe Saradar. For more than two decades, Mario has successfully diversified the family business beyond the banking sector, mainly through financial services, real estate business and distribution.
Today Mario Saradar is Chairman-CEO of Marius Saradar Holding (MSH), and serves as the Chairman-CEO of Saradar Bank.
Particularly keen on encouraging Lebanese talent from different fields such as art and sports, Mario Saradar has been involved in the cultural scene for many years, and has supported projects and exhibitions organized in Lebanon and abroad. The creation of the Saradar Collection is the outcome of his desire to ensure a legacy of art in Lebanon.

Dina Saradar Executive Director

Deeply committed to supporting local artists and creating new strategic initiatives for the collection, Dina Saradar took charge of the management of the Saradar Collection.
Dina is pursuing the expansion of the collection, exploring new perspectives in the Lebanese contemporary art scene.

Sandra Dagher Artistic Director

Conceptualizing, organizing and programming cultural projects for over 18 years, Sandra Dagher is a cultural practitioner who lives and works between Paris and Beirut. From 2000 to 2007, she was the owner and manager of Espace SD, a private space that presented fine arts exhibitions, a permanent showcase of Lebanese designers and multi-disciplinary events. In 2007, Dagher was the co-commissioner and co-curator of the first Lebanese Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Two years later, she co-founded the Beirut Art Center (BAC), a non-profit space and platform dedicated to contemporary art in Lebanon where she held the position of co-director until 2014, and currently serves as a board member. Dagher was an inaugural committee member for the Saradar Collection until 2015, when she became part of the team.

The Advisory Committee

In 2012, a committee of Lebanese and international experts was formed to advise on the acquisition of artworks that would become the foundation for Saradar Collection. The advisory committee duties have later expanded to giving direction, recommendations and expertise on both programming and acquisitions.

Committee members 2022-2023:

Gregory Buchakjian (Art Historian and Photographer) - Sam Bardaouil & Till Fellrath (Curators, Founders of Art Reoriented) - Karina El Helou (Curator)

Committee members 2021:
Gregory Buchakjian (Art Historian and Photographer) - Sam Bardaouil & Till Fellrath (Curators, Founders of Art Reoriented) - Catherine David (Curator, Deputy Director of Centre Pompidou) - Jessica Morgan (Curator, Director of Dia Art Foundation)

Committee members 2018-2019:
Achim Borchardt-Hume (Guest Member / Curator, Director of Exhibitions and Programmes at Tate Modern) - Gregory Buchakjian (Art Historian and Photographer) - Catherine David (Curator, Deputy Director of Centre Pompidou) - Jessica Morgan (Curator, Director of Dia Art Foundation) - Joe Tarrab (Art Critic)

Committee members 2017-2018:
Tarek Abou El Fetouh (Guest Member / Curator) - Gregory Buchakjian (Art Historian and Photographer) - Catherine David (Curator, Deputy Director of Centre Pompidou) - Jessica Morgan (Curator, Director of Dia Art Foundation) - Joe Tarrab (Art Critic) - Christine Tohme (Curator, Founder and Director of Ashkal Alwan)

Committee members 2016-2017:
Gregory Buchakjian (Art Historian and Photographer) - Catherine David (Curator, Deputy Director of Centre Pompidou) - Kristine Khouri (Guest Member / Researcher, Co-Founder of History of Arab Modernites in the Visual Arts Study Group) - Jessica Morgan (Curator, Director of Dia Art Foundation) - Joe Tarrab (Art Critic) - Christine Tohme (Curator, Founder and Director of Ashkal Alwan)

Committee members 2012-2015:
Saleh Barakat (Founder and Director of Agial Gallery and Saleh Barakat Gallery) - Gregory Buchakjian (Art Historian and Photographer) - Sandra Dagher (Cultural practitioner, co-founder and former co-director of Beirut Art Center) - Catherine David (Curator, Deputy Director of Centre Pompidou) - Jessica Morgan (Curator, Director of Dia Art Foundation) - Joe Tarrab (Art Critic) - Christine Tohme (Curator, Founder and Director of Ashkal Alwan)