What to visit

Welcome to Ouzville, Lebanon

Lebanese artist transformed a neglected Beirut suburb into a colorful piece of art, he calls it Ouzville.

For long now, the Ouzai district just outside of Beirut has been neglected and labelled as a ghetto, but one Lebanese artist is changing it by turning it into Ouzville.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUIJGmOgjA2/

Mural saying: “[Lebanon] will be rebuilt”

Ayyad Nasser has been working on this project for more than two years, with the vision starting in the midst of Lebanon’s trash crisis back in 2015, Lebanese Gino’s Blog reports.

The initial plan was to fly in artists from around the world to draw on the piles of trash bags covering every street corner across the country’s capital. But when the plan started shaping up, the crisis was already “somewhat” over.

With artists excited to come and work in Lebanon, Nasser turned his attention to Ouzai, a neglected coastal suburb crowded with tin-roofed, amateur-made houses.

Today, thanks to Ayyad’s effort, parts of Ouzai look very different, earning it the street name “Ouzville”.

The outer walls of the neighborhood’s houses have turned into beautiful and colorful murals.

A number of artists and locals are taking part in the project, leaving behind their own little touch of sunshine.

They are doing their best not to leave a single concrete spot grey.

Locals have been very welcoming of the initiative, and are glad to see their once-gloomy neighborhood given some color.

According to the initiative’s Facebook page, once their work in Ouzville is complete, they will move on to similar projects in Aakar, Tripoli, Saida, Bekaa and other neglected areas across Lebanon.

They add that “[they] are here to beautify, to give a soul and life to long neglected places.”

You Might Also Like