Arab Image Foundation Guest Portfolio I Arab Image Foundation Guest Portfolio I

The Arab Image Foundation is a non-profit organization established in Beirut in 1997. Its mission is to collect, preserve and study photographs from the Middle East, North Africa and the Arab diaspora.

The AIF’s expanding collection is generated through artist and scholar-led projects. The Foundation makes its collection accessible to the public through a wide spectrum of activities, including exhibitions, publications, videos, a website and an online image database.


The ongoing research and acquisition of photographs include so far Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Iraq, Iran, Mexico, Argentina and Senegal. To date, the collection holds more than 600,000 photographs.

Party at the Osseiran house
Saida, Lebanon, 1955
Photograph by Chafic el Soussi
Original: Gelatin silver negative on acetate film-base,
5.6 x 8.7 cm