This Sea is Mine

Since the end of the Lebanese civil war, Beirut has been witnessing the gradual disappearance of coastal lands accessed by the public. This has been happening through a legalization of the de-facto privatization of the coastal line that occurred even before the war years. More recently, this could also be seen in the case of the sea front extension, Zaytouna Bay in Solidere, a new marina area created over the rubbles of the historic fishermen port of the city now turned into one of the most expensive real-estate projects in the region. The control of public space in Beirut has been gradually taking over the remaining social places in the city, in which an abstract public is consistently being served. This Sea Is Mine is a site specific live performance that explored the concepts of access to the sea and public space in the city through Beirut’s seafront. The audience was invited to take part in a journey on a fishing boat. Going from the Ein el-Mreisse port to Ramlet el-Baida beach, the project explored land ownership of Beirut’s seafront, the laws that govern it, and the practices of its users. The goal of this project is to re-examine our understanding of public space and to re-imagine the city. The project was performed twice daily with 5 audience members over a period of 10 days.

The research Booklet for This Sea Is Mine is available in a PDF version and can be downloaded here: English Booklet “This Sea Is Mine” (The original Arabic version here:  هذا البحرلي