The editors’ selection: eight cultural stopovers, a few detours, and a concentrate of Beirut spirit.(Credit: Collage L'OLJ)
We Design Beirut: The creative city in five stops
The second edition of "We Design Beirut" opened Thursday with an oud concert at the Sursock Museum, a tribute to Nazih al-Ghadban, one of Lebanon’s great oud players and instrument makers.
For five days, from Oct. 22 to 26, the Lebanese capital will pulse with a "design experience," inviting everyone to "think, create, and build together in a spirit of repair and renewal."
Expect a wealth of exhibitions, installations, encounters, and discussions with designers, architects, artists, artisans, and manufacturers across five landmark venues. From Villa Audi to the Abroyan Factory, from the al-Murr Tower to the Union Building, and the Roman Baths downtown: (re)discover all the people and places that make Beirut’s creative identity and richness unique.
Click here for the full program
Biography: Dumas, hero of a graphic concert
What if the life of Alexandre Dumas, author of "The Three Musketeers" and "The Count of Monte Cristo," was as full of drama as his fictional heroes?
Delving into the archives of this major figure in 19th-century French literature, singer-songwriter Fred Nevcheh and illustrator Alfred unearthed biographical gems — a source of inspiration for their graphic concert "Edmond Dumas Dantès," which recounts the journey of a grandson of a Black slave who became a prolific author, theater director, darling of Paris high society, newspaper owner, and political activist before facing disgrace and bankruptcy.
For the theatre enthusiasts
Truth or tray-baked lies? 'Kezbeh bil Sanieh' reimagines couples’ comedy
This performative work blends readings, songs, and electronic poetry with live drawing. At Cinema Metropolis, Thursday, Oct. 23 at 8:30 p.m.
Heritage: Craftsmanship, between memory and renewal
Founded in 1963 to showcase at the heart of the capital the works of craftspeople from all over Lebanon’s villages, the Maison de l’Artisan in Ain al-Mreisseh has seen times of prosperity and hardship.
Today, it is experiencing a rebirth thanks to a new management committee, with members appointed by Social Development Minister Haneen Sayed. Prominent figures in arts, design, and communications, their first act was "Across Time," an exhibition conceived by Babylon-The Agency and inaugurated Wednesday, which highlights the Levant’s rich heritage of traditional arts and crafts, giving special focus to Lebanese-made pieces once shown and sold at the Maison de l’Artisan.
Sometimes looking backward is the only way to move forward.
Exhibitions: 'Small Worlds' and migrants
If you still find time for some gallery-hopping this busy week, here are two exhibitions inspired by the spirit of the times.
"Petits Mondes," a group show at Janine Rubeiz Gallery, invites six artists (Zeina Abirached, Carole Burban, François Sargologo, Hanibal Srouji, Suyin Tsang, and Alain Vassoyan) into conversation about the persistence of poetry in an increasingly dark world.
Meanwhile, Mark Hachem Gallery hosts a solo exhibition by Shadi Abou Sada. The Syrian painter, who has lived in Beirut since 2012, explores the experience of migration — one he himself lived through during his country’s revolution — through charcoal and acrylic on canvas.
His work tells this story with sensitivity and talent, without lapsing into pathos. Not to be missed.
Conferences: Weaving a new cultural momentum
In celebration of al-Mawred al-Thaqafy’s 20th anniversary, the "Living Fabric: Cultural Ecosystem" forum will be held in Beirut on Oct. 24 and 25, 2025 — from 3 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday — with evening music performances at Metro al-Madina at 10 p.m.
The event brings together artists, thinkers, and institutions from the Arab world to imagine new ways of creating, sharing, and resisting. Two days of debates, workshops, and music are dedicated to rethinking the role of cultural work in the face of censorship, war, and technological upheaval.
How do we rebuild a "commons" when everything is uncertain? From memories of the Arab revolutions to the possible futures of artificial intelligence, the forum invites collective reflection on what it means to build a living, supportive, and profoundly human ecosystem.
Comics: What if diplomacy had its own speech bubbles?
For the "Beyrouth Livres 2025 festival," the Institut français du Liban presents a clever and unexpected exhibition: "Diplomacy and Comics – France and the World since 1945."
Conceived by French Ambassador to Lebanon Hervé Magro and Albert Drandov with the French Diplomatic Archives, the exhibition tells the story of foreign policy not from official podiums but from the drawn margins: crises, negotiations, cultural misunderstandings, and moments of humanity — captured in ink and speech bubbles.
This captivating journey shows how comics become a way to decipher the world. On display from Oct. 15 to Nov. 12, 2025, at the IFL, open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The full Beyrouth Livres program is here
Documentary: 'Riverboom,' the lost scoop
Twenty years after being lost, the images from a wild road trip around Afghanistan resurface: "Riverboom" tells the adventure of three young reporters shooting the world in the aftermath of 9/11 — a documentary that’s bold, funny, and unsettling.
It launches the Swiss program of Beyrouth Livres on Oct. 22 at 8:30 p.m. at Metropolis, with journalist Serge Michel and filmmaker Eileen Hofer joining for a discussion after the screening.
The following day, Hofer will present "Horizontes," her poetic tribute to Cuban dance, at 6 p.m. Finally, on Oct. 26, head to ESA, where Serge Michel, Pierre Haski, Véronique Caye, Barbara Polla, Giuseppe Merrone, Badiaa Boulila, and Géraldine Prévot will discuss the Mediterranean world and the power of cultural perspectives in a fractured world.
Performances: Metro, where words dance
Two evenings not to be missed at the heart of Beyrouth Livres 2025. On Oct. 24 at Metro al-Madina, the stage first hosts "Beyrouth Rivages," a poetic and tender encounter with Camille Ammoun, Charif Majdalani, Hyam Yared, and Maylis de Kerangal, lending their voices to a city that is at once wounded and defiant, set to the sonic world of Nasri Sayegh.
At 9 p.m., it’s time for the musical and visual evening "Walaw!", where readings, live drawing, and performances intertwine: Pierre Haski, Maylis de Kerangal, Rim Battal, Yara el-Ghadban, and Sabyl Ghoussoub at the mic, with illustrators Baudoin, Serge Bloch, Marc Boutavant, and a DJ set from Shifo Keefo.
Two events that promise to revive what makes Beirut so beautiful: its ability to turn pain into creation, chaos into celebration, and remind us why we love it, again and always.
