Paolo Ghezzi of Antonello Ghezzi, Italian artist duo, conducted a House of the Milky Way project workshop at the Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth thanks to the generous funding provided by art historian Maie El-Hage. The workshop realized a scenographic version of the “House of the Milky Way” Project, ending with a video and photo documentation of the embassy that the students built together. The 3-day workshop involved seven 3rd year students from the Institut d’Études Scéniques, Audiovisuelles et Cinématographiques at USJ, directed by Professor Toufic Khoury. The project involved several steps, including: concept, design, construction, lighting, sound, video, photography, writing, and acting. The workshop was launched during the week of 17 November 2025 in Beirut.

“The House of the Milky Way” is an interactive, public contemporary art project that has travelled the globe, being activated in cities like Faenza, Cordoba, Santiago del Cile, Ramallah, and Beirut. The message of the project is that we are all citizens of the Milky Way galaxy, and that if an embassy was realized for this galaxy, we would all belong there. The project thus proclaims unity and peace at its core concepts.

Maie El-Hage is an art historian and curator based in Dubai. Her collaboration with Antonello Ghezzi has been ongoing since 2019, and she has curated several shows for them, including “The Milky Way House” first exhibition in Beirut at Beit Beirut Museum in 2022. She has collaborated with the Italian Institute of Culture in Beirut on three occasions for projects involving Antonello Ghezzi. Maie El-Hage continues to show support for artists that inspire her.

You can read more about these projects on her website https://arthistorianmaie.com/