NNA - Beirut al-Marfa' exhibition was officially inaugurated yesterday at the Beit Beirut Urban Observatory, in the presence of Prime Minister Dr. Nawaf Salam, Minister of Public Works and Transport Fayez Rasamny, Minister of Economy and Trade Dr. Amer Bisat, Minister of Environment Dr. Tamara El Zein, MP Melhem Khalaf, Governor of Beirut Judge Marwan Abboud, Director General of the Port of Beirut Omar Itani, members of the Port's Board of Directors, the exhibition's curators, as well as representatives from the cultural, academic, and media sectors.
The exhibition explores the powerful and often troubled relationship between Beirut and its port — once a cornerstone of the city's growth and identity, it became the epicenter of its devastation and decline after the blast on August 4, 2020.
Since the 19th century, Beirut and its port have developed side by side, tightly bound within a limited geographic space. The city sometimes hindered the port's growth; the port, in turn, blocked many of the city's urban ambitions.
Reimagining the port today is not only a matter of logistics and infrastructure - it is an opportunity to rethink and repair the fractured relationship between the city and its harbor, and to restore a connection that once shaped Beirut's destiny and identity as a major port city in the eastern Mediterranean.
Three visions for the port reflect three visions for the city - from a soft reshaping and repositioning to ambitious scenarios of an ever-growing city, to emergency plans fostering stability and continuity of port operations, a strategy favored by local authorities. Four main questions remain: What type of governance? What source of finance? What is the relationship of the port with the city and public space? What about our wounds and memory?
"Beirut al-Marfa' is not just an exhibition — it is a collective act of remembrance and projection," says curator Hala Younes. "Today, there is a historic opportunity to redefine a more harmonious and balanced relationship between Beirut and its port."
Five years after the explosion, despite valuable efforts and initiatives, many featured in this exhibition, large parts of the port remain desolate, barren grounds. The August 4 blast not only shook the city and blew up the port, but it also exposed the fragility of its governance and its heavy reliance on the political system that continues to paralyze Lebanon.
The traumatic impact of the blast and its aftershocks continues to paralyze our collective ability to imagine a future for Beirut. The magnitude of the shock left the city in a state of sidération — frozen, suspended in time, blocked in repetition and melancholia, unable to project itself forward.
The "Battle of the Silos" captures this very tension — between the part of us that needs to remember, and the part that longs to forget.
Curatorial team: Hala Younes, Mona El Hallak, Hadi Mroue
This exhibition was made possible with the support of:
-The Directorate General of Antiquities - Ministry of Culture
-The Bibliothèque Orientale - Saint Joseph University of Beirut
The production of Beirut al-Marfa' has been enabled thanks to the commitment of Hkeeli, a collective initiative that has been formed within the Lebanese civil society to reopen Beit Beirut.
About the Beit Beirut Urban Observatory
The Beit Beirut Urban Observatory is a collaborative space that brings together cultural actors working across architecture, urban design, planning, and landscape—to reflect, research, and engage the public on the future of our cities, through exhibitions, discussions, and public programming.
Its mission is grounded in three collective actions that the founders believe must guide urban work in Lebanon today: Preserve. Repair. Share.
Beirut al-Marfa' exhibition at the Beit Beirut Urban Observatory
From November 5, 2025, until February 8, 2026
Opening Hours: Wednesday to Sunday from 12 to 8 PM
@beitbeiruturbanobservatory
