The Birth of Paper
by RealTime Interventions with Milia Ayache
Beirut partner: Rusted Radishes Beirut Literary & Art Journal
Pittsburgh partners: Handmade Arcade, City of Asylum and Scribe Fine Papers
About the Project
Begun as an adaptation of a “distance play” Molly wrote in 2003, The Birth of Paper became a transcontinental “engine of connection” involving over 60 pen pals, makers, artists, and volunteers in Beirut and Pittsburgh.
The project began with a transcontinental letter exchange between strangers; continued with the creation, packing and mailing of “gift packages” made by Pittsburgh artisans for the people of Beirut (packed by Pittsburgh volunteers); and ended with a series of live shows centering on this mutual transmission of goods and goodwill among potential friends.