wanderlust (n.): a strong desire to travel
Exploring the streets of Beirut city, one drawing at a time.
It all began with two students tasked with coming up with a blog idea. While roaming the streets of the magical Beirut, the idea was bound to come to mind. So here we are, and here is the fruit of our wanderings.
A gem found in Monot, a man searching for springtime… with a magnifying glass. The naïveté of this brought a smile to our faces the second we… Read more “In search of springtime”
Found somewhere deep in Hamra, this graffiti comes as a much-needed awareness campaign for the Lebanese people in such trying times. We must all remember that the… Read more “An important message in laboring times”
Lebanese poet, playwright, philosopher… Said Akl is a true symbol of the country, here impeccably painted on a wall in Gemmayze. The interesting net with locks all… Read more “Said Akl on a street in Gemmayze… or the Pont des Arts?”
It comes as no shock to see that street art is currently booming in Beirut. With the political vacuum and absence of citizen mobilization, art seems to be the last standing means of expression, one the Lebanese youth hopes will bring about change.
Through this humble, non-exhaustive blog, we aim to showcase diverse graffiti works livening up the streets of Beirut, from the ones hidden in dusty corners to the most daring, glaring pieces.
Many consider street art to be an act of rebellion, and truth be told, it is nothing new: street art is directly linked to the societies it stems from, and it is in constant evolution. Like everything else, the only constant thing about it is change!
Be it signed or anonymous, graffiti is considered by many to be an art form of its own, transforming urban areas into a veritable open-air museum. They’re sprawled across walls all over the city, images we know we’ve seen, but can’t quite remember where.
To visit a city through its graffiti is a bit like discovering it through the eyes of those whose voices are constantly being subdued. Far from belonging to often-pretentious museums and cliché touristic sites, street art bleeds authenticity and reality. The beauty of graffiti lies in its ephemeral nature; a piece you saw yesterday might no longer be there today. Sure enough, some works we photographed ourselves are no longer there now! This gives the onlooker a special feeling of belonging.
That special feeling is what we hope to instill in you through the photographs we’ve taken.
Caline and Dolly.
Below you will find a slideshow of the street art we photographed, all in one place. Enjoy!
beirut street art 