A Fragile Freedom: an exhibition of forty Syrian drawings by George Butler
17th-22nd November:
Marquis House, 67 Jermyn Street, London
Open daily: 10am-6pm (Closes 4pm Sunday) Free admission
“The news can show us what happened, but drawing can show us how it really felt”
Award-winning artist and reportage illustrator George Butler presents "A Fragile Freedom", a new exhibition of drawings and paintings created across Syria between 2024 and 2026.
“I believe the news is failing us. It promotes destruction before humanity. It’s polarising and fatiguing. It gives the illusion of certainty. You might feel helpless or hopeless. You’d certainly be forgiven for turning it off. My antidote is to wander the streets and stand on the corners. I work for local translators and fixers to interview the unsung and the understated.” TED talk April 16, 2026
More than a decade after the outbreak of civil war, Butler returned to Syria to document a country caught between the weight of war and the uncertainty of the future. It remains a fragile freedom, but the Syrian spirit, supported by decades of family, community and enterprise, endured.
“This exhibition is dedicated to them; in the window of hope Syria has to rebuild itself. It shows what we always suspected: that Syrians were the true custodians of their country, not the abhorrent Assad regime that divided and betrayed.”
The portrait is usually reserved for the military hero or government official. But what if, just this time, they are of those who could so easily be forgotten? These ink drawings go side by side with first-hand interviews of their subjects. They are stories that the circumstances of the regime allowed to be told for the first time.
A F R A G I L E F R E E D O M
Contact: info@georgebutler.org
A Fragile Freedom: an exhibition of forty Syrian drawings by George Butler
17th-22nd November
Marquis House
67 Jermyn Street
London
Open daily: 10am-6pm (Closes 4pm Sunday) Free admission