The Sursock Museum will presentMare Nostrum, an exhibition by Lily Abichahine, from November 6, 2026 to February 21, 2027. Placed under Yasmine Helou police station, she will occupy the Twin Galleries on the ground floor. The opening was announced on Friday 6 November at 6 p.m. The artist continues a research on the Mediterranean, borders and relations between law and myths.
At the Sursock Museum, a sea crossing borders
The project starts with a question: how to define a sea whose water flows between territories? Lily Abichahine is interested in the gap between this movement and the political divisions that organize the Mediterranean area.
In the presentation of the exhibition, she questions the historical priority given to land in the way of thinking law. It proposes to shift the look towards the water and consider the Mediterranean basin as a whole. Marseille, Izmir, Palermo and Beirut mark this research.
The myth is another tool of his work. The artist approaches it as an old way of organizing human relations and the exercise of power. This intersection between narratives, territories and structural rulesMare Nostrum, not limited to a representation of the marine landscape.
Research between law and performance
Lily Abichahine is a lawyer, researcher and artist. Trained in law at Saint Joseph University and Paris Descartes, she then studied performing arts in Paris 8. His practice includes conferences, performances, installations and videos.
His work examines the links between legal forms and fictional narratives. The body, heritage and collective memory occupy an important place. This course explains the presence of the legal vocabulary in a search that also uses text and scene.
The projectMare Nostrum, begun in 2021, includes several achievements prior to the Beirut exhibition.Our Sea I: Choreography for a Woman and a Stonebelongs to this first cycle, developed in Palermo.
The second part,Secrets of the Infinite Sea, revisit the myth of Prometheus. Created in Bremen in November 2022, it combines text, video and sound. The artist brings together ancient divination and the realities of Mediterranean migration. This performance conference was presented at Trinity College Dublin in January 2025.
The exhibition at the Sursock Museum takes on the title of this long-term research and gives it a new presentation framework in Beirut.
Dates and access
Mare Nostrumwill open on November 6, 2026 and will continue until February 21, 2027, according to the museum calendar. Admission to the museum is free. Its usual hours are from Wednesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., separate from the opening schedule.
The museum is located on the Greek-Orthodox Archdiocese in Ashrafieh, near St. Nicholas’ stairs. He states that his galleries are accessible to wheelchair users. School groups must book their visit in advance to the museum.
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