172: The Necessity of Art

Once hailed as ‘the Paris of the Middle East,’ Beirut is a city of contrasts, a cosmopolitan crossroads where East meets West. As such, it is a city that unabashedly embraces art. Retired visual artist and art instructor Mahmoud Safa shares his journey as an artist growing up in this famed artsy city, which began when he was four years old and has taken him around the world.