for the promotion of culture and the production of contemporary art in lebanon and the middle east

Nowadays, Lebanese artists have to face tremendous challenges imposed by the precarious economical phase and lack of democracy the Arab region is going through. This situation has a negative impact on the cultural and artistic production in a country where culture provides both an asset and an opening to civilization: promising young people export their ideas and established artists lose hope due to lack of opportunities and financial support. Believing that art has major role in advancing society towards justice and democracy and willing to try to bring some positive change to this critical situation, we, a group of young people of different cultural and artistic backgrounds, have decided to create an institution, which main goals are the promotion of culture and the production of contemporary artistic works.

Who We Are:
Step Away (ASA) is an independent Lebanese NGO founded in 2000 by a group of young artists and social activists.

Our Mission:
*Promotion of culture and the production of contemporary art
* Expanding the role of art in promoting the awareness of rights, democracy and social justice

Our Objectives:
*Production of artwork
* Inform about and train people on modern means and techniques used for artistic purposes
* Support all social classes to have the right to acquire knowledge, to express communicate and create freely
*Provide moral and material support for the students, artists, intellectuals and researchers to use their abilities for the service of the human society
*Increase the role of culture in policy-making and development programs in order to change the reality of social injustice
*Provide artists with a working space insuring the proper atmosphere for arts to interact

A Step Away| P.O.Box 167133 Ashrafieh | Beirut Lebanon | 00961-3-533753 | 00961-3-256 773 | info@astepaway.org