Western Terrace: Villages We Carry - A Living Community Archive

The Villages We Carry: A Living Community Archive is an immersive community gathering exploring how memory, storytelling, and everyday cultural practices preserve our connection to place.

Centred on the villages of South Lebanon, the event transforms PHIVE's Western Terrace into a village style gathering space where memory becomes a form of preservation. Guests are invited to contribute their own photographs to the archive and participate in mapping the communities, villages, homes, and landscapes of South Lebanon. Alongside this archival process, visitors will experience digitised VHS home videos and live music, creating a space for reflection, storytelling, and connection.

Rooted in traditions of hospitality and intergenerational knowledge sharing, The Villages We Carry: A Living Community Archive offers space for audiences to learn about the villages of South Lebanon and the communities that have shaped them. Whether you have family ties to South Lebanon or are curious to learn more, everyone is welcome to listen, participate, and experience the stories, resilience, culture, and everyday histories carried across generations.

Guests will also leave with a small gift of homemade bread and olive oil, honouring the South Lebanese tradition of never letting a guest leave empty-handed.
 

Bring a photograph to contribute to the archive

We're inviting guests to bring their own photographs of South Lebanon—family homes, streets, landscapes, celebrations, or everyday life. Your photographs will be professionally scanned on the day and returned to you, becoming part of a growing digital community archive.

Together, we remember not only places, but the lives, relationships, and cultural traditions that make them home.

Curated by Zeinab Mahfoud

When: Wednesday 13th October, 6:00 – 8:00pm
Location: Level 3, Western Terrace
Registration: Spaces are limited with some seats and standing room. Registration is essential. As this is an outdoor venue, please dress accordingly. For access requirements please contact PHIVEtickets@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au 

Photo by Zeinab Mahfoud

The Western Terrace is a series of creative gatherings, performances and workshops taking place underneath the golden hour, as the sun sets, facing West, thinking West. Imagining the Western Terrace as an extension of their own homes, gardens and balconies, the series features artists, authors, filmmakers, musicians and community sharing domestic ritual collectively.