Tag Archives: Ammar Abo Bakr

7orreya: Graffiti Exhibition on Freedom of Expression in Cairo

No matter how seasoned and jaded you are, it’s always a shock to see the ultimate Egyptian symbol of violence and oppression – the police state- on a pair of naked legs or on the back of a dirty, sodden … Continue reading

Posted in Blog Archive | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Belal Ali Saber: Graffiti by Ammar Abo Bakr and El Zeft

At some point, it seemed realistic to aspire to live with dignity in Egypt. Now, two years on and with thousands of Egyptians dead, the right to live now depends on who’s side you’re on; us or theirs. Death is … Continue reading

Posted in Blog Archive | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Street Art and Morsi – Cairo Artists Continue the Fight

It feels like I keep writing the same post over and over again: images of sexual harassment, police violence, military violence, more martyrs, young martyrs, poems and tributes to martyrs, satire against Morsi, against religious and political hypocricy, against censorship … Continue reading

Posted in Street Art Fascination | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Art in The Streets: Videos on Beirut, Palestine, Tripoli and Cairo for MOCATV

It’s not every day that total amateurs get the chance to make a video for a contemporary art museum, but that’s exactly what happened to me when Jeffrey Deitch, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, emailed … Continue reading

Posted in Street Art Fascination | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Women in Graffiti: A Tribute to the Women of Egypt

It’s a battle, being a woman in an Arab country, but perhaps the dire conditions makes us fighters. Since January 25, so many foreign reporters have waxed on about the awakening of Arab women in the Arab Spring; and how … Continue reading

Posted in Street Art Fascination | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 66 Comments

Return to Tahrir: Two Years and Graffiti of the Martyrs

It was my first time to walk through Tahrir after three months away from Egypt, and I don’t quite know why I was so bewildered and shell-shocked. Perhaps it was the heaviness of the atmosphere in the square, the squalid … Continue reading

Posted in Street Art Fascination | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Egyptian Graffiti Artists Exhibit Around the World

The past two years have given good exposure to the Egyptian street art scene. With increasing international media focus on graffiti artists – I’ve lost count of the number of print articles, news shorts and documentaries made – comes increasing … Continue reading

Posted in Street Art Fascination | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

For the Love of Graffiti: Cairo’s Walls Trace History of Colourful Revolution

This article was originally published in The National on August 18. I’ve republished it here to include some of my favourite images of graffiti over the past 20 months. A street artist once told me: “Graffiti is the one tangible … Continue reading

Posted in Street Art Fascination | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Presidential Elections – Revolutionary Graffiti Continues

Eighteen months on, their names are forgotten. They’ve become numbers, over a thousand people who died bravely and innocently, shot dead, electrocuted, beaten and tortured by police and soldiers who – 18 months later – are either found innocent or … Continue reading

Posted in Street Art Fascination | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Writing About Graffiti in Cairo- One Year On

If this post comes across as offensive, arrogant or downright nasty to anyone, I apologise in advance; I literally woke up on the wrong side of bed and pulled a shoulder, so I’m cranky; plus this matter has been on … Continue reading

Posted in Street Art Fascination | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Street Art on Mohamed Mahmoud – Photos

Mural by Shaza Khaled and Aliaa El Tayeb, who studied at the Luxor Faculty of Fine Arts. The mural is inspired by a photo-shopped image of a protester in Greece dancing with a ballerina.

Posted in Street Art Fascination | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

AUC and the Port Said Mural – A Personal Plea

A funny thing happened outside the AUC on Mohamed Mahmoud Street last Thursday. As a group of onlookers, including journalists, photographers, documentary makers and myself, watched Ammar Abo Bakr, Alaa Awad and several other artists diligently work away on a … Continue reading

Posted in Street Art Fascination | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments