‘Allo, Beirut?’ exhibition reconnects to forgotten past of Lebanon’s capital – The National

‘Allo, Beirut?’ exhibition reconnects to forgotten past of Lebanon’s capital – The National

Few buildings in Beirut represent the complexity of Lebanon’s recent history better than Beit Beirut, a former residential building that today is a museum and cultural space in the heart of the Lebanese capital.

Now, the venue is hosting Allo, Beirut?, a multi-faceted, year-long artistic and culture exhibition over a decade in the making, which brings together a diverse collection of artists, creatives, journalists, researchers and collectors, exploring the story of Beirut from the golden era of the 1960s to its troubled present.

“I started to write about places of memory in Beirut in 2010,” journalist and curator Delphine Darmency tells The National. “I started with Beit Beirut. My grandmother lived in Monot, and I was always impressed by this building because it's beautiful, but at the same time sad.