Illustration by Jaimee Lee Haddad.
Some of us are still holding our breaths, yet, in cultural spaces, exhales have turned into a tornado, as everyone tries to reschedule everything that was on pause during the war before it's once again too late.
Lebanon has a hectic two weeks in many ways. If you're trying to return to your old habits and hobbies, or if you're still not ready to brace the outside world, here's what to do with your time.
What to see
This Thursday, Tamara Haddad is dedicating her exhibition at Galerie Tanit to her father, who "loved beauty and knew how to see it," especially that of trees.
Trees, like all living things, have their own language. Like us, they survive on their own but thrive in communities. Also, like some of us, they often give more than they receive.
Haddad's art and her photographs of trees attempt to tell their stories, and that of "a persistent anxiety and unease about a planet under strain."
Click here for more information.
Majaz is collaborating with ARTLAB again to put forward emerging creatives and artists. This time, the star of the show is the art of printmaking, one long forgone for the convenience of a Malik's trip.
But convenience often kills creativity. And behind layers of papers, colors, and textures are centuries of research, trial and error, and development.
Click here for more information.
In the uncomfortable purgatory Lebanon is now emotionally stuck in, Art District Beirut is asking us not to forget, "but to feel what remains and what begins, softly, to take shape again."
In a group painting exhibition, "Into the Tender Quiet" explores our anticipation, our awkward silence, and asks us to sit in our mess, reminding us that the responsibility of "renewal" is one we all have to carry.
Click here for more information.
What to watch
Metropolis cinema restored original footage taken during Ziad Rahbani's iconic 1978 and 1980 plays, "Bennesbeh Labokra Shou" and "Film Ameriki Tawil," and adapted them to the big screen.
If you were too young for radios, or to have been born before the Taif Agreement, this is your opportunity to discover the soundtrack to your parents' adolescence, and where Rahbani's iconic songs and musings originate.
Click here for more information and here.
Where to party
Metro al-Madina is uniting the workers of the world this Friday to celebrate the fruits of their labor — i.e., to dance. After weeks of war and turmoil, maybe your missing piece is a night run by Wad Na3na3 and Bakisa, DJs at the forefront of Arabic Hip-Hop and electronic nights.
Too overwhelmed to go out?
Feel like being around Beirut's culture scene now will just bring you headaches instead of a change of scenery? I can't blame you. Here are a few ways to stay sane while you sit at home:
Every weekend, Yara Malke rounds up L'Orient Today's culture must-reads to at least let you know what you're missing out on.
Lebanese author Manal Salameh's debut novel, "Habibi Beirut," has taken over the international press for its candor and sharpness.
In a deep dive on Lebanese identity, the main character, Amal, lives her life between the intersections of her gender, her country's violence, and her nightmare where she dreamt "that Lebanon had disappeared from the map and I no longer spoke Arabic." Pick up a copy for this weekend's read.
Humanitarian convoy reaches Rmeish, Ain Ibl, Dibil despite obstacles