In the summer, the coordinating group continued to meet and think about the structure of the cooperative. In the meantime, they held one-on-one meetings with 27 artists and asked them:
Do you have any questions left after the presentation?
Which lines of work interest you?
How much time can you commit to the cooperative, if at all?
What, in your opinion, is the best tool for communication and coordination- e.g., whatsapp groups, broadcasts...?
Do you have shows you are working on? Can the shows be performed in multiple places? Do they have shows ready to be performed in Mansion?
Are there any workshops you’d want to give throughout the year?
If there is a membership fee for the cooperative, what amount could you pay?
What would you need from the cooperative?
Do you have anyone in mind who’d be interested in the cooperative?
Are there proposals for other places in which workshops and shows can be organized inside and outside Beirut?
After these interviews, an excel sheet was prepared that assembled all of the information concerning shows, workshops, spaces, and various resources. There were at this point 40 people interested in the project and about 20 shows that were ready to be performed. After which, an invitation was sent on Whatsapp calling for a first general assembly on the 24th of September in Mansion in which the participants were meant to brainstorm ideas for the first season of performances and the various lines of work needed to make it happen.
The first assembly gathered a group of people over lunch in which they were presented the agenda for the meeting and the developments of the cooperative. After that the large assembly was divided into smaller groups and asked to imagine how the cooperative will operate during this season. The result of this assembly was that a couple more people decided to join the weekly meetings. The name Bahh was agreed upon and so was the program for the season. The day concluded with a party and a powerpoint of the presentation and all relevant information was sent to all those who attended two weeks later.
After this general assembly and mainly during the season more members gradually joined the core group including Hiba Najem, Racha Ghanem, Nour Shammaa and Alexandre Paulikevitch.
