The Work-Stay: Beirut

Mari Kalabegashvili Reflects on Cities as Collages

During her work-stay in Beirut, the Tbilisi-based artist discovered unexpected similarities between the Lebanese and Georgian capitals as sites composed of many disparate—and sometimes conflicting—elements.

During her work-stay, Kalabegashvili connected with local creative practitioners whose work, much like hers, explores different layers of their own city through different media.

These interactions allowed Kalabegashvili to reflect back on her own environment, and, as she describes in the video, "to figure out what are some nuances or some really minor things that would be otherwise undiscoverable in my local region, and to really explore what  people do in other places around the theme of cities as extreme playgrounds."

She also gained access to the archives of UMAM Documentation & Research and co-hosted an event at Mina Image Centre, together with artist Batoul Faour.