The Association for the Promotion and Exhibition of the Arts in Lebanon, also known as APEAL, has announced that the country’s new art institution, which is expected to open in 2020, will officially be named the Beirut Museum of Art. The new space will exhibit modern and contemporary Lebanese culture. It will be located on property owned by the Université Saint-Joseph on Beirut's museum mile, which is also home to the National Museum, Museum of Lebanese Prehistory, the Mineral Museum, Beit Beirut (House of Beirut), and Metropolis Center.

The Beirut museum is currently in the process of developing its collection and programming. Despite not having a building, in March, it launched an artist-in-residence program in the city of Ras Masqa, and as of April, twelve commissioned artists have begun publishing in different Lebanese newspapers for a project called “Works on Paper”—a series curated by Amanda Abi Khalil. Information about future events has yet to be announced.

A two-stage international design competition for the museum’s new building, called “A Museum in the Making,” has already announced a shortlist consisting of thirteen architectural firms. The jury was assembled by the chair of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, Lord Peter Palumbo, and consists of international and local experts including the late Zaha Hadid, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Julia Peyton-Jones, Rodolphe El Khoury, Lamia Joreige, Lord Richard Rogers, and Fares Al Dahdah, as well as representatives from APEAL and the Université Saint-Joseph. The winner will be announced this fall.