Artists refuse to leave crisis-stricken Lebanon - in pictures

Their work helps them to cope with the harsh reality of life in a country gripped by economic crisis

Lebanese fine artist and painter Paul Merhy, attends an interview with Reuters at his studio in Thoum, Lebanon July 1, 2022. REUTERS / Emilie Madi

Equally determined to stay is ballroom dancer Amin Beitamouni, pictured practising in his Beirut home. Dancing has been his lifeline during tough times, he says.

"Tango is more than just a hobby. For me, it is a way to stay alive, to keep on thinking, to keep on expressing," Mr Beitamouni says.

"On days when I grow tired of this country, of the country’s situation, of everything that we are going through, it allows me to keep resisting and express myself," he says.

Rock musician Joy Fayad playing a gig in Baabdat, east of Beirut. She hopes her music can lift her audience and help them release their frustrations.

"I always face problems, for example sometimes there is no electricity when we want to practice. But then, when the electricity comes back, I blow off steam more intensely because there is something inside me that is coming out, it’s healing me," she says.

"Many people living here are survivors who found solutions to keep going," Mr Merhy says. "Many people are working outside their fields. There are many people like me who are attached to their country, they belong to their country."

More from The National:

Lebanon's music festivals make modest comeback after crisis

Lebanon averts nationwide blackout by paying part of debt

Lebanon's social contract has collapsed, but why is there no move to revive it?

Protesters march through Beirut against Lebanon price surges

Anger in Lebanon as struggling telecoms sector increases rates