Graffiti-Kunst in Ägypten: Was vom Arabischen Frühling übrig blieb by Eva Thöne

29th September, 2015
Graffiti waren wichtige Symbole der ägyptischen Revolution. Heute werden die Künstler aus dem Land getrieben. Ammar Abo Bakr zeigt die Macht der Kunst, die den Arabischen Frühling prägte. Die Hebebühne vor der Hauswand wackelt. Ammar Abo Bakr wackelt mit, ein 35-Jähriger mit dunklem Haar und ersten Furchen auf der Stirn, der bei der Arbeit mit dem Pinsel leise singt, sich ganz vertieft. Mit Acrylfarben zieht er auf zehn Metern Höhe die Konturen eines Turbans, im Regen an diesem ersten Herbsttag in Köln zerfließen sie in weiche Flüsse…

Photo Book Seized by Egypt’s Censors By Steven Heller

19th February, 2015

A shipment of editor Basma W. Hamdy’s Walls of Freedom, a photography book on the street art of revolutionary Egypt, was just seized by the new Egyptian government. Here Hamdy speaks of her shock and surprise. When did you learn that Walls of Freedom was seized by authorities in Egypt? I found out [on Wednesday] through the Egyptian press. Was a reason given to you for the seizure? The reason was not given to me personally, but an article was published …

Egypt Customs Officials Seize Street Art Books for “Instigating Revolt” by Benjamin Sutton

20th February, 2015

Egyptian customs officials in Alexandria have reportedly seized a shipment of 400 copies of the art book Walls of Freedom: Street Art of the Egyptian Revolution, over fears that it might incite rebellion. Ahmed al-Sayyad, the undersecretary of the Finance Ministry, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the book, which features images of murals and tags that appeared on Egyptian streets during and in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution, is “instigating revolt” …

Regierungskritische Graffiti in Ägypten – Gegen die Wand by Karin El Minawi

24th February, 2015

In Ägypten hat es die Kunst nicht leicht – auch nach der Revolution von 2011 nicht. Noch immer werden Filme und Literatur von der Zensurbehörde kontrolliert, dabei hatte man die doch nach dem Sturz von Hosni Mubarak eigentlich mal abschaffen wollen. Und nun hat die ägyptische Behörde auch noch 400 Ausgaben des in Deutschland herausgegebenen Bildbandes “Walls of Freedom” (Verlag From here to Fame, 2014) konfisziert.

Egypt seizes graffiti book for ‘inciting revolution’ by Andrew Gale

February, 2015

When you think of customs seizures, you picture baggies of cocaine or live animals or a gun-toting stuffed armadillo. Egyptian customs, however, have been busy confiscating 400 photography books. Walls of Freedom features images of the provocative street art that covered walls and buildings in Egypt during the 2011 revolution that eventually led to the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak…..

New Texts Out Now: Walls of Freedom: Street Art of the Egyptian Revolution

25th March, 2015

Don Karl and Basma Hamdy, editors, Walls of Freedom: Street Art of the Egyptian Revolution. Berlin: From Here to Fame Publishing, 2014. Jadaliyya: What made you write this book? Don Karl and Basma Hamdy: Our main goal in creating the book was for preservation and documentation of the explosive street art of the revolution. But as the project developed, we felt it was not enough to just present photos of the street art, because…

Egyptian Officials Seize Big Scary Street Art Book For “Instigating Revolt” by Prachi Gupta

20th March, 2015

Egyptian officials, who have in recent years arrested journalists, artists and even a popular satirist, have now confiscated a book about street art and graffiti out of fear that it is “instigating revolt.” The book, Walls of Freedom, by design professor Basma Hamdy and street artist and activist Don Stone, documents the 2011 Egyptian revolution and the three years that followed as Egypt cycled through dictators and militant leaders. Street art became a sign of dissidence…

Street-Art: Ägypten beschlagnahmt deutschen Bildband über Arabischen Frühling

19th February, 2015

Alexandria/Hamburg – Ägyptens Behörden haben in Alexandria 400 Exemplare eines Bildbandes konfisziert, der im Zusammenhang mit der Revolution von 2011 entstandene Graffitikunst zeigt. In dem von einem Berliner Verlag herausgegebenen Band “Walls of Freedom” (Mauern der Freiheit) seien Bilder, die “Hinweise zum Aufstand gegen Polizei und Militär” liefern, zitierte die ägyptische Nachrichtenseite “Al-Masry al-Youm” einen Sprecher des ägyptischen Finanzministeriums…

News From Elsewhere/Egypt: Books on revolution street art seized

19th February, 2015

Customs officials in Egypt have seized hundreds of copies of a book on revolutionary graffiti, it’s reported.
The book, called Walls of Freedom, features images of street art which have appeared in Egypt since January 2011, when then-President Hosni Mubarak was ousted following huge street protests. Its website says it also looks at the graffiti artists and “examines the historical, socio-political and cultural backgrounds which have shaped the movement”.

ARTS & CULTURE/ Q&A: Egypt’s graffiti ‘the unmediated voice of people’

26th February, 2015

A week ago, Egypt’s customs services in Alexandria port confiscated 400 copies of a book that documents the Egyptian revolution through graffiti. A government official told a local paper the book was confiscated because it “contains elements that give advice on confronting police and army forces” and, therefore, a cause for concern. On Sunday, the head of the Publications Censorship Authority, the body in charge of book censorship, told reporters that there was no “ban” ordered and that it was just an issue of “unpaid storage fees”.

In Pictures: Walls of Freedom documents Egyptian street art by Thoraia Abou Bakr

16th July, 2014

Walls of Freedom, an upcoming book co-edited by Basma Hamdy and Don Karl, documents the rise of graffiti as a prominent platform for expression during the recent period in Egypt. The Daily News Egypt spoke to Hamdy about her work that chronicles this ever-changing art form, and the many projects and initiatives inspired by Egyptian… Walls of Freedom, an upcoming book co-edited by Basma Hamdy and Don Karl, documents the rise of graffiti as a prominent platform for expression during the recent period in Egypt….

Steven Heller features Walls of Freedom as one of 7 extraordinary books

24th October, 2014

…as one of 7 extraordinary books whose design, art and photography they contain circumvent established norms or smash accepted verities to smithereens….The cover, showing the Guy Fawkes face mask from the film “V for Vendetta” on a mummy’s head, is startling, but the book overflows with other agitational representations, including a reproduction of the flier “How to Revolt Intelligently, the book contains an almost…

HOW STREET ART HELPED TO OVERTHROW EGYPT’S GOVERNMENT by Ryan Fosbenner

30th May, 2013

In 2011, Egypt was the stage for a political revolution where the persistence of its people ultimately gave way to the tottering of a despised dictator. When Egyptians realized that their vocalized political differences weren’t breaking the bones of their corrupt political skeleton, they turned to the visual power of street art for help. Thanks to the congregated efforts of 50 photographers and 30 artists, their Walls Of Freedom collaboration between art and design professor Basma Hamdy and graffitist Don Karl…

WALLS OF FREEDOM: DON KARL AND BASMA HAMDY INTERVIEW
by Jacob Pramuk

24th June, 2013

Basma Hamdy remembers exploring old Cairo in the early ’90s. Her older brother took her through streets tourists seldom traveled, away from the pyramids, monuments, and Tahrir Square. They viewed factories that produced arouset el moulid (dolls for a Sufi Islamic celebration) and craftsmen that morphed wood and brass into symbols of Egypt’s past and present. Hamdy saw Egypt’s faces and personalities in those walks. She witnessed celebrations, traditions, and fears…

Egypte : La parole doit sortir du box des accusés. Sana Sbouai & Lilia Blaise

28th March, 2014

La révolution de 2011 n’y a rien fait : les libertés et les droits de l’homme, en Egypte, ont été mis à mal par tous les régimes qui se sont succédés au pouvoir. Le retour de l’armée n’est pas signe d’ouverture. Au contraire. Le rapport de Human Rights Watch, Egypt : Human Rights in sharp decline, publié en janvier 2015, fait état d’un revirement à l’encontre des droits de l’homme, depuis l’accession au …

Egypt Now: A Lack of Colour, interview with Basma Hamdy by Alex King

28th March, 2014

After the euphoric scenes of 2011 – where graffiti played a highly visible role in a broad popular uprising – the revolutionary movement that toppled one of the Middle East’s longest-serving dictators seems to have ground to a halt. To get a sense of the current situation, Huck spoke to Basma Hamdy, an academic, designer and co-author of revolutionary street art anthology Walls of Freedom, who explains that Egypt is currently…

Walls of Freedom Documents the Art of the Egyptian Revolution by Danna Lorch

15th December, 2014

The Egyptian Revolution incited an outpouring of graffiti, most of it politically motivated and aimed at an audience of ordinary Egyptians. A multitude of artists—including Ganzeer, Keizer, Ammar Abo Bakr, and the late Hesham Rizk—put their lives on the line to write on every available surface, from walls to military barricades and even army tanks. Basma Hamdy and Don Karl aka Stone meticulously documented the street art that….

Egypt’s revolutionary street artists silenced by new military dictatorship by Alex King

15th December, 2014

“I arrive in Tahrir Square at the exact moment a huge march, the biggest I had seen in my life up to that point, clashes with a deployment of riot police. The security forces are overwhelmed and retreat to the fringes of the square, which has now been taken over by the protest movement. Powerful chants erupt ‘Bread! Freedom! Social Justice!’ and ‘Down, down with Hosni Mubarak!’ There is a billboard in the centre of the square sporting a National Democratic Party advertisement, Mubarak’s …

This Moving Street Art Helped Topple A Dictator During The Arab Spring by Zak Stone

28th May, 2013

Street art is an ancient Egyptian tradition, but the new book Walls of Freedom: Street Art of the Egyptian Revolution shows how the Arab Spring uprising brought it back to life as a way to fight corruption. During the Egyptian Revolution in 2011, the country’s young people didn’t just vocalize their political dissent; they recorded it on their cities’ walls with murals, posters, and graffiti. Politically charged street art is a tradition dating back to antiquity in Egypt, but a soon-to-be-published book, Walls of Freedom…

A Look At The Street Art That Spurred A Revolution by Jordan Kushins

18th June, 2013

Walls of Freedom, a new book currently seeking funding on Indiegogo, offers a striking view of the role of street art during the Egyptian Revolution, as seen through the eyes, art, and words of those who lived—and continue to live—through the volatile transition. “The visual landscape of many cities has become a commercial space. Direct, raw messages like the ones here are rare and really capture a nation’s struggle for freedom,” co-editor Basma Hamdy tells Co.Design.

Egypt’s revolutionary street artists silenced by new military dictatorship by Alex King

15th December, 2014

“I arrive in Tahrir Square at the exact moment a huge march, the biggest I had seen in my life up to that point, clashes with a deployment of riot police. The security forces are overwhelmed and retreat to the fringes of the square, which has now been taken over by the protest movement. Powerful chants erupt ‘Bread! Freedom! Social Justice!’ and ‘Down, down with Hosni Mubarak!’ There is a billboard in the centre of the square sporting a National Democratic Party advertisement, Mubarak’s …

Crowd-funding campaign supports book on Egypt’s graffiti

6th June, 2013

A new book on Egypt’s post-revolution graffiti wave is turning to crowd-funding to cover its production costs.Basma Hamdy and Don Karl, the authors of ‘Walls of Freedom,’ say they have raised $6,870 out of a total of $25,000 for editing, work and printed costs, with just over a month left to go. The authors say that their book serves as more than a documentation of the graffiti movement. “We have collected everything from newspaper clippings to hand-drawn sketches. We have sourced photographs…

“Walls of Freedom”. L’Egitto e la street art della rivoluzione raccolta in un libro

24th August, 2013

Walls of Freedom’ è un potente ritratto della rivoluzione egiziana, che racconta la storia di questi ultimi mesi sulle sponde del Nilo con suggestive immagini d’arte che hanno trasformato i muri in Egitto in una testimonianza visiva di coraggio e resistenza. Gli artisti più influenti hanno lasciato i loro segni iconici per le strade. Questa raccolta di street art egiziana è arricchita da immagini della rivoluzione scattate da fotografi di fama e attivisti. Si vedono in tutte le principali città egiziane come Il Cairo, Alessandria e Luxor…