Tiro Association for Arts (TAA) was established in 2014 as a non-governmental organization under license n° 2633, located in the Lebanese National Theater in both cities, Tyre and Tripoli, in South and North Lebanon. TAA works on encouraging the local communities to engage with culture and the arts outside of religious and political frames. The association also believes that these communities can express themselves through culture and the arts, not only to convey their identity but also to showcase the issues and challenges that they face. That is, by gathering young volunteers from diverse social, cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds with the aim of creating an alternative movement to have a social change.
OUR VISION
Culture and the arts become unmodulated for a certain city in Lebanon, but rather, the marginalized areas retrieve the right to express themselves through culture and the arts so that the latter could be a mutual right by using public spaces.
OUR MISSION
Congregate children and youth and encourage them to recognize creative self-expression measures such as performing arts, cinema, fine arts, and handcrafts, while also developing their life skills. Through this, children and youth become the decision-makers who would lead to social change and contribute to a cohesive society.
OUR OBJECTIVES
TAA aims to create free and independent cultural forums by rehabilitating and reopening closed cinemas so that artistic training workshops, festivals, and artistic exhibitions can be organized. The association programs artistic and educational cinematic performances for children and youth, weaves exchange networks with international festivals, and grants an opportunity for young directors to present their films. In addition to this, TAA works on introducing the audience to the history of cinema, local and international performances, and revitalizing the role of theater. It also aims to:
• Increasing the recognition of culture and the arts’ value in society.
• Developing the artistic and life skills of children and youth through the arts.
• Encouraging a committed and purposeful theatrical movement.
• Organizing multi-disciplinary festivals and fostering collaborations and co-creation.
• Contributing to decentralization as well as parallel cultural development and policy improvement.
• Admitting that “art shall be a right for everyone.”
OUR VALUES
• Promoting tolerance and social justice by ensuring equality, solidarity, and rejecting all kinds of discrimination.
• Respecting others’ opinions, differences, diversity, and cultural openness.
• Respecting gender, equality, and freedom of expression and belief.
• Defending human rights and advocating for social causes.
• Creating a safe environment that respects freedoms.
OUR Programs
1. Organize artistic festivals and mobile artistic activities through the Peace Art Bus in the marginalized areas, as well as screen cinematic films within a program entitled “Cinema for Marginalized Areas and Mobile Art.”
2. Train children in the arts and create job opportunities for youth within a program entitled "Building Capacities and Skills.”
3. Establish workshops dedicated to women and work on maintaining traditional handcrafts within a program entitled “Empowering Women through the Arts.”
4. Integrate people with special needs in society through the arts and screen and produce films for the deaf and blind within a program entitled “Art is Everyone’s Right.”
5. Strengthen and develop the skills of youth within the refugee camps through workshops and festivals within a program entitled “Camps’ Talents.”
6.Using arts to promote environmental preservation and raising awareness about climate change.