Dictaphone Group announces the release of a sound piece based on their summer 2012 performance, This Sea Is Mine. The research-based and site-specific performance explored the concepts of public space and seafront access in Beirut through the city’s coastline. In the performance, the audience was invited to take part in a journey on a small boat going from the Ayn al-Mrayse fishing port to Daliyeh in Rawshe. The boat stopped at each of the different seafront properties exploring its land ownership history, the laws that govern it, and the practices of its users. The goal of this project is to reexamine our understanding of public space and to re-imagine the city.
Research Booklet
An English version of the This Sea Is Mine research booklet is now available for download (click here). Based on the original Arabic publication (click here), the booklet outlines the general history of Beirut coastal properties, and provides detailed information on the ownership history of the major beaches (e.g., Sporting Beach) and resorts (e.g., Movenpik Hotel Resort) of the city.
Sound Piece
Dictaphone Group invites you to download the below sound piece to your phone or portable audio player. You have the option of commissioning a pre-arranged trip on a fisherman’s boat (detailed below) or experience the piece while taking a walk on the Beirut cornice starting from Ayn al-Mrayse fishing port and walking towards Daliyeh in Rawche.To take the boat trip with the Adnan el-Oud, the same fisherman who took part in the show (see video below), please contact him directly at 03-977870. The English-language sound piece is below (click here for the Arabic language sound piece).
Save Daliyeh
The Daliyeh coastal plot in Rawshe, where the performance of This Sea Is Mine ends and which was the focus of our discussion of seafront public space, is now facing potential closure with plans to be transformed into yet another luxurious hotel on the seashore. Dictaphone Group is joining local activists, the fishermen community, and other Beirutis in a campaign against the closure of Daliyeh as a public space. We encourage you to sign campaign petition (http://www.alarida.org) and get involved (click here to stay updated).
This Sea Is Mine: Video from the Performance