To broaden the possibilities for supporting artistic practice in the region, a some of the staff of the ECF visited Beirut during the third edition of the Homeworks forum in November 2005. The main intention of this trip to Beirut was to do homework about possible content, formats and context of artistic collaborations occurring in Beirut and the region for potential support. This was also to see if there could be an arts project supported in the context of AlmostReal. This visit was followed by a period of many different exchanges with artists working in the region. In the ensuing months, the AlmostReal team decided on the strength of the proposal of Christine Tohmé of Ashkal Alwan to support the development of video and interdisciplinary installation of emerging Beirut-based artists.