Artists and institutions in Beirut, large and small, have rebuilt several times since the outbreak of Lebanon’s 15-year civil war in 1975 and through subsequent conflict. But even before the explosion that has wrecked the city, the country’s long-dysfunctional political system was spiraling, taking the currency, the economy and even the electricity grid along with it. Now, say many key figures in Beirut’s cultural life, Lebanon could really become a failed state. – Artnet