More than 100 graffiti artists were invited to Tunisia as part of the Djerbahood project – an inventive rehabilitation initiative that uses street art to turn a dusty village into an inspiring open air gallery.
We have watched with great interest as Tunisia’s graffiti culture has grown since post-Jasmine revolution. Artists like VA-JO and El Seed have dazzled us with great designs, along with a unifying sociocultural message that spins the stereotype of the anarchist street artist.
And while the political landscape in Tunisia remains tenuous, graffiti artists appear to have significant freedom and support to share their work.
Related: Tunisia’s tallest minaret sprayed with El Seed Calligraffiti
In particular, 150 artists from 30 different countries were invited to participate in the Djerbahood, where they painted old, dilapidated and perfectly good buildings with their signature style. Famous Belgian artist ROA was among the artists whose playful work incorporates certain domed buildings into his pieces – like the large octopus with a bulbous head.
El Seed, who is Tunisian, was also present for the massive paint out. And we are also particularly enamored with the artist from Mexico, Curiot, who added a significant splash of color to the village.
The site of one of the world’s oldest and most famous synagogues, the El Ghriba synagogue, Djerba is the largest island of North Africa at 198 square miles.
Support for this inspiring project came from the Embassy of France in Tunisia, and Boga Cidre, Airbus, One Tech, Digard, SEH Legal and Yosr Ben Ammar.
A municipality in Morocco has similarly used graffiti in order to stem urban decay and to find idleness among the youth.
:: Djerbahood
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
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