2019

Éditorial : Poetry smugglers

For five editions, “Us, the moon and the neighbors” transformed Vendome stairs in Beirut into a large open air theatre, breathing life into its gardens, school yards, houses, and rooftops... For three nights, under the moonlight, Mar Mikhael became a space for reunions: A common tribune where words and movement are expressed freely and exchanged with kindness. Professionals and amateurs shared this big stage at the heart of the city where traditional, classical and contemporary dance, theatre, and music left no room for borders nor elitism, neither hierarchy of arts nor beings. The spirit of this festival remains. Our port today is a village in the mountains: Hammana A port is a space where we exchange and revive, trade and get resourced. It’s a starting point and the point of return. A space for those who wander to meet and those who host. It’s often a pause for people who are very different from one another: a microcosm of our humanity, always in motion. This summer, “Us, the moon and the neighbors” adventures in meeting other partners and other realities, travels from one port to another, and weaves a collaborative and precious network of poetry smugglers. Thanks to “March” association in Tripoli, “Centre Sport et Culture” in Hermel, the people and the municipality of Hammana and “Ishbilia for Arts” association in Saida, it is possible to carry a common adventure and a collective dream: their desire invites us to taste again to the diversity of a common territory. “Us, the moon and the neighbors” is a promise made to the stars. It’s a light - dim at times perhaps -, but a light nevertheless that reminds us that beyond all our fears, living together and embracing each others’ differences is possible and moreover wished for by the majority amongst us. We want to throw a starry-eyed look at the world, just like a naive clown. Collectif Kahraba carries a childlike dream: the unity in diversity. To trigger unity, we must acknowledge and love this diversity: let us ride together and cross over these poetic territories where we will be guided by fifty artists musicians, actors, dancers, circus performers, puppeteers, photographers, directors, visual artists and illustrators. They are from Switzerland, France, Spain, Japan, Armenia, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Palestine and of course, Lebanon. Meet us in Tripoli, Hermel, Hammana and Saida. Welcome! Whoever you are! The team of Collectif Kahraba