Workshop with Lucille Tenazas, Designer and Academician, dean of the graduate program at Parsons New York. The Project was called Uniquely Beirut: Who, What, Where?
Beirut is often referred to as “the Paris of the Middle East,” recalling its status as a French colony during the Second World War. Through periods of war and political turmoil, it is a modern city layered with paradoxes and cultural complexities. As residents of the city, each of you have connections to what is unique to Beirut viewed from your personal experiences. Who, what, where would you recommend to a visitor in order to have a truly authentic experience that can never be found in a guidebook or tourist information site?
Almost more than half the Lebanese population went down and protested on the streets all over Lebanon to fight for basic rights during the October 17 Revolution in 2019. After months of protesting nothing changed, and today in 2023 the situation continues to just get worse.
As the people have been marginalized by the Lebanese government, for me something unique in Lebanon are the grafitti slogans around the walls of Beirut. I believe so since these are permanent message that stick and age around Beirut for everyone to see. The slogans I chose represent the hope that Beirut will one day return as it was and that our "hope must never die". I believe this hope after everything that has happened is what makes the lebanese people so special.
So, I decided to design 5 postcards to be sent to different people with each including a slogan from a wall in Beirut. Each postcard contains an image of the wall, the date, where it was taken in Beirut, the recipients adress, and a message in both Latin and Arabic.
