BEIRUT — The smell of paint filled the air as artists expertly moved their brushes back and forth along the walls surrounding the statue in Martyrs’ Square. Each artist adds a new mural or image to express him or herself as music plays softly around them.

Since the start of Lebanon’s over two-week-long protests on Oct. 17, street artists have mobilized throughout the country to add their marks to the massive movement that has swept across Lebanon. However, while street artists have thrived during this time, traditional art institutions such as galleries and exhibitions have gone on strike in solidarity with the protesters and because these events would struggle to draw a crowd.

“If you have worked on a program for the past year and you are launching it, you don't want it to end,” artist and curator Noor Haydar told Al-Monitor, adding, “You don’t want to cancel it because you have people coming in from abroad participating. I think it’s a bit of both. I think that they were waiting to see how big this was getting, but they wanted to be on the street too. A lot of their employees and staff members were protesting. No one would have the indecency and insensitivity to open up a [gallery]. And who is going to go anyway? Who’s going to go to an art gallery and be like, ‘Oh, this is lovely’? I mean, it’s a bit divorced from reality.”

One such program that was put on hold is Home Works, a biannual arts forum that brings together the country's cultural sector. While the program was able to have its first day, it coincided with the start of the protests and has since been postponed indefinitely.