Oaken Lab Byblos

EXTENDED deadline to apply: 13/10/2026

Apply for the Open Call here!

Read more about the application here!

Oaken and The Festival Academy invite up to 12 international festival leaders and artists to apply to Oaken Lab Byblos, a unique immersive experience based at Oakenhouse in Jbeil/Byblos, Lebanon, from 25 November to 3 December 2026. The Lab is conceived as a gathering within Oaken’s wider cultural ecosystem, which brings together Oakenhouse, its year-round space, and Oakenfest, the annual forest gathering in Lehfed.

Why the Lab in Lebanon, and why at Oaken?

“For us, adaptability is not really a theme we chose; it has become part of how we work. Conditions around us can change very quickly — financially, politically, logistically and emotionally — and this affects everything from whether an artist can travel, to when we can announce a programme, to whether an event can happen in the form we originally imagined. Every year, and sometimes every month, we have to reassess, adjust and decide what still makes sense.” - Thimar El Dahr & Elsa Saade

During the Lab, we will take these realities into a wider exchange between festival makers, looking at the practical process of adapting: when a format needs to change, how a new format takes shape, and how to make those decisions intentional without losing what matters at the core. Participants bring their own contexts, experiences and ways of working into this exchange.

The Lab aims to confront these detachments and dualities, by providing the time and experience necessary for a multifaceted, inclusive, and socially grounded artistic approach and exchange. Oaken Lab Byblos centers the preservation and cultural understanding of the Levant region.

Apply for the Open Call here!

Read more about the application here!