The star power burned bright. The architect David Adjaye had designed a $100 million building with a facade of red ceramic tiles, combining a high-end mall and a separate exhibition space. Massimiliano Gioni, the artistic director of New York’s New Museum, curated the inaugural show of abstract art. Mr. Salamé, 48, in a soft blue suit, mingled while his elegant wife, Elham, glided across the mall’s black-and-white zigzag marble floors in a revealing black-and-red dress with a long train.

Some art critics said displaying the collection in a wing of a mall eroded the line between art and commerce. Others wondered who would shop there and how Mr. Salamé could have become so wealthy selling luxury items in a small country in economic crisis. But the evening made one thing clear: Mr. Salamé and his foundation have managed to put Beirut on the global art map, reinforcing the city’s place as a dynamic hub in a troubled region.

Just two weeks later, a pair of suicide bombings claimed by the Islamic State struck the edge of Beirut, a day before the attacks in Paris. Killing dozens, the violence set this vibrant waterfront city on edge. The effect on tourism — and the new center — is not fully known.