We know Zevs, we know regional graffiti artists, we know what the walls and fronts in our cities look like. You ever wondered how other street artists use their cans to color the world? Pergamon Museum in Berlin did - and is now presenting a selection of photos and artworks of graffiti in various countries of the Middle East. From 25th July to 19th August 2012 you can visit the exhibition ‘Arabic Graffiti‘ which at the Museum of Islamic Art in the Pergamon Museum throughout the cultural festival 'Nights of the Ramadan'. The creations by graffiti artists, calligraphers and typographers from the Middle East and around the world combine Arabic calligraphy with graffiti, street art and urban culture. The uncommon type of streetart exhibition is an intercultural project by urban art publisher ‘From Here To Fame‘ that involves artists, activists and academics from various Arabian countries. First only seen as an art event, it has also started to become a real movement in the right now problematic Middle East. Printed fabric with sayings like “For a long time, walls were shuttered windows. They were prisons, through which no color, shape or word could escape. Finally, these walls have become open windows; allowing our dreams to flow out onto the streets. We pour our love and our anxiety onto these walls; our need for expression was silenced for so long. We cover these walls with color to empty our hearts. Painting these walls, we chain our fears. It means taking back our space as a people; re-appropriating a right that was denied us. Painting these walls, we rediscover our dignity, our freedom and our honor.” express also the political background where the artist come from. Arabic graffiti: following the motto ‘You might pull down our words - but never our cans‘. So have a look yourself!
SOTO INVITE: ARABIC GRAFFITI

