Street Art and the Egyptian Revolution

Strategic Sectors | Culture & Society Street Art and the Egyptian Revolution Panorama Lina khatib What started with simple stencils of a fist denoting Program Manager, Arab Reform and Democracy defiance – the earliest form of street art in the Egyp- Program tian revolution, with the fist being the symbol of the 6 Stanford University April activist movement against Mubarak – trans- Strategic Sectors | Culture & Society formed into a form of visual commentary on political and social developments. Street art has evolved in The 25 January revolution that took place in Egypt in content and form from stencils and graffiti into large- 2011 was not the first of the Arab Spring – the Tuni- scale murals, and its presence as topical commen- sian one preceded it – yet it was the one with the tary has entered everyday life in Egypt, so that it has most impact on the trajectory of revolutions in the become almost expected to witness new street art region. One could argue that without the Egyptian emerging whenever the political trajectory in Egypt revolution, there would not have been an “Arab takes a new turn (Tripp, 2013). Spring” as we know it: The 25 January revolution was distinct not only because of Egypt’s importance 299 in the politics of the Arab world, but also because it the days of the revolution foregrounded forms of political expression that had an impact on political protests across the region During the days of the 25 January revolution, street (Khatib, 2013). One such form is street art. art was mostly used to mock the Mubarak regime Before the 25 January revolution, visual expression and to express citizen demands for change. Simple in public space in Egypt was largely the domain of graffiti began to appear on walls, such as some in the regime. Visual tools of articulating political dis- Bab el Louk in downtown Cairo that said, “I want to sent were limited to demonstrations such as those see another president B4 [before] I die” (Gowaily, organised by the Kifaya movement in 2005, when 2012). An interesting dimension of such graffiti is protesters would carry banners and posters criticis- that, like the noted example, they were sometimes ing the President and the police, making visual ex- written in English as a way of appealing to the inter- pressions of dissident politics fleeting in nature. The national community. Egyptian revolution of 2011 made visual expression However, most graffiti were in Arabic and very local in a key tool in political protest, catalysing the use of their cultural references. For example, on Boustan street art in other revolutions that followed in the Street in downtown Cairo, a stencil of the great Egyp- 2013 Arab world, such as in Libya and Syria. tian singer Oum Koulthoum appeared along with the The 25 January revolution, then, changed political title of one of her most famous songs, “Patience Has dynamics in Egypt as street art emerged as a key Limits.” Several pieces depicting the ousted Presi- form of expression, used for a variety of purposes: dent as a pharaoh also appeared. As such, Egyptian expressing political demands; criticising the regime; street art was a way for Egyptians to reach out to oth- congratulating the people on the revolution; memori- ers within their own community by drawing on shared alising the revolution’s martyrs; naming and shaming cultural references and heritage. Mediterranean Yearbook oppressors; expressing solidarity with other Arab This sense of national belonging was echoed in Med. Med. revolutions; and commenting on current affairs. street art referencing Egypt’s diverse religious land- IE scape. As Egypt harbours a spectrum of commit- their work, Egyptian citizens were attempting to re- ments to religious doctrine, a stencil appeared on claim public space from the regime and, in so doing, Panorama Mohamed Mahmoud Street in downtown Cairo af- reclaim political agency. firming the need to transcend categorising Egyp- tians according to religious expression. This was done through the representation of three women’s A serious challenge faced in Egypt heads: the first, on the right, is unveiled; the second in the post-revolution period wears a headscarf; and the third is covered with a concerns the position of women, niqab only revealing the eyes. The caption accompa- nying the stencil proclaimed, “Don’t categorise me.” who have continued to be sexually Similarly, a mural by Freedom Painters in Abbas el harassed and assaulted not only by Akkad Street in Nasr City referenced the famous thugs but also by the police. These ceiling mural in the Sistine Chapel, showing a hand assaults have been inflicted to with a tattoo of a cross touching the finger of a hand carrying prayer beads with the words “take care” in terrorise the wider population by Strategic Sectors | Culture & Society English above, the letter “t” made to look like a cross targeting women’s honour and the letter “c” like a crescent. Street art during that time was characterised by a sense of optimism about Egypt’s future and of na- Street artists played an activist role in this context. tional pride. “Hold your head up, Egyptian” was a As the SCAF-controlled media tried to influence slogan seen on many walls across the country, as the political process through propaganda, street art were statements referencing the most famous slo- appeared cautioning people against media mes- gan of the Arab Spring, “The people want the over- sages about maintaining the old order through calls throw of the regime,” such as one appearing on for “stability.” One stencil by Keizer in Mahmoud Mansour Mohamed Street in Zamalek that said, “The Bassiouni Street in downtown Cairo showed a man 300 people overthrew the regime. We won.” It was with a television set for a head shooting himself in signed “Tahrir youth.” Thus, street artists were call- the head, captioned in English, “Kill your television.” ing for national harmony and a sense of together- A drawing by Hosni in Tahrir Square also showed a ness in Egyptian society as the country looked for- man with a television overtaking his head, rendering ward to a brighter future. him cross-eyed and with his tongue hanging out idi- otically. The slogan said, “Join the largest political party in Egypt: The Sofa Party.” Underneath it con- the Post-revolution Period tinued, “Yes to stability. Yes yes yes my darling.” A serious challenge faced in Egypt in the post-revolu- As Egypt began to witness a number of challenges tion period concerns the position of women, who in the post-revolution period, the mood in street art have continued to be sexually harassed and assaulted changed to reflect those challenges. Several sten- not only by thugs but also by the police. These as- cils and murals appeared commemorating the mar- saults have been inflicted to terrorise the wider popu- tyrs of the revolution (Armbrust, 2012), as well as lation by targeting women’s honour. A well-known in- citizens who were still being detained for political cident took place in 2012, when a woman was beaten 2013 activity by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed and dragged down the street in Cairo by the police, Forces (SCAF). Street art began to criticise the causing her abaya to lift revealing her blue bra. Sten- leaders of the SCAF, showing them as a continua- cils of a blue bra began appearing all over Cairo in tion of the old order. Well-known pieces of street art, solidarity with the woman, such as one on Mohamed such as one of SCAF leader Hussein Tantawi’s un- Mahmoud Street in downtown Cairo that added to derwear, lent their creators public recognition and the bra stencil the statement “No to stripping the peo- Mediterranean Yearbook international acclaim, so that for the first time in ple,” signed “Long live the revolution.” On the same Egypt’s history, street artists such as Ganzeer, Keiz- street, another stencil represented a police officer, Med. Med. IE er, Hosni, and Sad Panda became famous. Through Ahmed Adel El Mogy, who became known for sexually assaulting female detainees by inflicting on them walls to cover murals or graffiti, street artists re- “virginity tests” and whom one woman testified against sponded by writing sarcastic comments on those in court. The stencil was captioned, “Rapist of our walls, such as “Congratulations on the paint!” Street Panorama daughters’ honour.” In a conservative country where art, then, has become a prime tool in the new politics issues such as women’s honour are normally only re- of resistance led by Egyptian citizens. ferred to in hushed tones, these kinds of loud expres- As other revolutions began in the Arab world, Egyp- sions in public space speak to the beginning of a fun- tian street artists also expressed their support for damental change in society as social and political those revolutions through their work, speaking of the taboos start to be broken. birth of a new sense of belonging in the region. Gone is the patriarchal, rigid “Arab nationalism” promoted by Arab dictators, and in its place is a new-found a new Politics of resistance pan-Arab solidarity characterised by pluralism and fluidity. Street art is playing an important role in unit- Street art in Egypt in the context of the revolution ing citizens both across and within borders in their became an illustration of the breakdown of the wall continuing struggle for freedom and dignity. Strategic Sectors | Culture & Society of fear and of taboos (Khatib, 2012). Street walls almost replaced newspapers in commenting on the trajectory of the revolution. No sooner had the coun- references try faced an emerging challenge than street artists would diligently call public attention to it.

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