What is Bahh?
The closest translation to bahh we can think of is the onomatopoeia poof, but we will keep it as bahh because it sounds nicer!
Bahh money. Bahh work. Bahh art. Bahh culture. Bahh theater. Bahh leisure. Bahh everything. Bahh everything. Red Tomato. Dreamy Girl. Stony House. Bahh is Love in reverse (this only works in Arabic). Spicy eggplant. Beautiful Cat. Spicy Potatoes. Beautiful Cat. Real Beirut. Citrus garden. A nurturing environment. Programming.
Bahh is a group that includes multiple professions, dreams, ideas, specializations among artists, administrators, workers, researchers, and activists of various fields of performing arts. We seek to create a den of coordination between performing artists within a cooperative structure that reconsiders the market and the institutionalization of art.
Why Bahh?
Because ~ art is inseparable from a decent life for everyone.
~ we want to contribute to the creation of professional opportunities for the largest number possible of artists, technicians, technicians, administrators, and workers in this field.
~ we want another culture than that of commodification and consumption. We want to accumulate knowledge to understand the economy of which we are a part and be impactful in forming a collective and cooperative economy.
~ we believe in cooperative work as a means for professional continuity. We want to think of tools and methods that resist the injustice that dominates the market, art, and society.
~ We want to make spaces in which our performances can be present in various regions and sectors and for our works to become part of the economic cycle of our local communities. We want to create art that understands and expresses people’s hidden ideas and aspirations and contribute to a collective and critical imagination.
~ We want to encourage the making of a cooperative that contributes to artistic production in a horizontal and collective manner along all of its logistical, administrative, artistic lines and with its writing, directing, design, its communication, and its coordination.
How do we Bahh?
Through ~ pluralism in artistic methods and theories within a collaborative system.
~ Relying on equal pay.
~ Linking our local artistic and cultural practices to a network of cooperatives and collectives in other fields such as agriculture, civic planning, education, housing, technology, and others whenever possible.
~ Sharing spaces for trainings, workshops, and performances.
~ Having joint accounting and management for members of the cooperative and their projects.
~ Establishing joint seasons in which to present various artistic performances and activities.
~ Creating a network for local, regional, (and global) roaming of the shows
~ Establishing a common fund among the members of the cooperative to contribute to the production of their projects through subscriptions and various sources.
~ Rotating roles and exchanging working hours in the cooperative.
~ Designing, implementing, and supporting political-artistic projects, and contributing to the movement of cooperatives and solidarity in Lebanon and elsewhere.
~ Exchanging workshops through which we share different skills, techniques, approaches, and ideas, and opening up the workshops to the public.
~ Exploring alternative technologies, applications, and software (open source).
~ Organizing sessions for auditions, open studios, and works in progress.
Its establishment
The establishment of Bahh, an informal cooperative, came about as a result of concerted collective efforts that wanted to respond to the needs of workers in the fields of performing arts. These were related to the need to promote collective, joint, and cooperative artistic practices within an economic system based on individual and commercial profit and competition in art. Through Bahh we want to contribute to creating professional opportunities for the largest possible number of artists, technicians, administrators, and workers in this field. In light of an economic, social, and moral collapse, we see art as inseparable from being able to live a decent life. Therefore, we strive to ensure the continuity and sustainability of theatrical and performance works, as a means of professional continuity and way to resist the injustices that dominate the market, art, and society.
During the course of establishing Bahh, 50 to 70 artists were interviewed, including writers, actors, directors, technicians, in addition to many workers and more generally those interested in the field of performing arts. After several meetings and discussions, most of which were a genuine dialogue, the tasks and roadmap for establishing the cooperative began to become clear. These dialogues and discussions contributed to the development of a strategy for cooperative work and inspired the structure and internal mechanisms.
We organized several gatherings, presented short performances, danced, and talked in order to open a space that would allow artists to meet, get to know each other, and share ideas.
We organized a general meeting in September 2022 and asked people to imagine the future of Bahh. We divided roles and distributed tasks among each other.
We organized version 0 of a season of performances, which was a cooperative programming carried out by Bahh members and which took place during six months, starting from November 2022 until February 2023.
We also contributed to the production of a number of theatrical performances and tour shows, such as the Black Hole Tour and Hayyat.
Where is Bahh?
It is a cultural space that specializes in performing arts, and provides a space for work, experimentation, training, production, displays, and archiving.
The cooperative began in Mansion, a shared space and much more in Zkak el Blat, to build on its experience in autonomous management. We also wanted to take advantage of the place while it was still available in a way that satisfied both the mansion community and the members of the cooperative. We wanted to develop a relationship between the place in which we organize our meetings, our various tasks, but also where we can perform. Basically, we tested the possibilities of the multiple uses of a single place.
We also cooperate with alternative cultural spaces in various cities, towns, and villages. We rely on the places from which the members of the cooperative come from in order to form a local roaming network that aims for a decentralized art.
After Mansion closed in September 2023, we moved to Beit Aam which currently houses us in Sioufi along with a number of various groups. We have built in the common area a stage and a parquet flooring in order to host performances, trainings, workshops, dancing.
