Zena El Khalil

Zena el Khalil, born year of the Dragon, is a visual artist, writer and cultural agitator based in Beirut, Lebanon. She has lived in Lagos, London and New York. Her work includes mixed media paintings, installations and performance and addresses issues of violence, gender and religion. She also curates exhibitions and publishes poets through her cultural project, xanadu*. Zena’s focus is to expose and transform the violence that surrounds her- her weapons of choice are love and humor. During the 2006 invasion of Lebanon, she was one of the first largely followed Middle Eastern bloggers; her writings published in the international press. She has written a book, “Beirut, I Love You: A Memoir,” translated in several languages. In 2012, Zena became a TED Fellow. In an attempt to spread peace, she is often seen running around Beirut in a big pink wedding dress.. You can follow her work on zenaelkhalil.com