Artistic expression played a pivotal role during and following the 2011 uprisings commonly known as the Arab Spring, also known as the First Arab Spring. Common mediums included cartoons, street art (graffiti/murals), and music. Many artworks centered around themes such as governmental corruption, police violence, political Islam, censorship, workers’ rights, and authoritarianism, among others. These works were often met with governmental suppression and violence.
Tunisia The Tunisian revolution or Jasmine Revolution was the first of the series of revolutions that came to be known as the Arab Spring. This revolution began after the public self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian street vendor. During the uprisings that took place in late 2010, and in the immediate aftermath of the ousting of long time president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, art played an integral role in creating a revolutionary atmosphere. Street art was particularly pervasive and important during this time, but other mediums like hip-hop music and political cartoons were also conveyors of political messages. This anti-establishment art movement emerged during and right after a time when political speech was heavily repressed.
Images of Bouazizi Although Bouazizi's self-immolation was not directly recorded, renderings of Bouazizi and his extreme act of protest were widely spread throughout Tunisia during the revolutionary period. A video of masses protesting immediately after he was taken away in an ambulance, posted by his cousin, went viral on Facebook bringing attention to the incident. An image of President Ben-Ali visiting a comatose and completely bandaged Bouazizi in a hospital in the days after the incident became renowned across the country and world. These, and similar images circulated online, spurring revolutionary sentiment. Outside of images of his self-immolation, Bouazizi became an icon of the Tunisian revolutionary movement. He was depicted in political cartoons as a catalyst for change and peace, as well as in portraiture representing him as a hero in life.
Street art
Street art, particularly graffiti, became widely used and politically important during the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia. Graffiti existed prior to the uprisings, but was largely non-political and on a much smaller scale. As mass protests began, images of Che Guevara and the hammer and sickle were often painted on walls. Anti-imperialist and anti-establishment messages were extremely popular, often criticizing Ben-Ali or his party the Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD). Graffiti artists often worked anonymously or in groups to protect themselves from retaliation. Street art was used to convey a wide range of messages. Often, street art was used to reclaim public space as a space for the people rather than controlled by the government. Statues and posters of Ben-Ali were destroyed or taken down and replaced with art. Three months after he fled Tunisia, portraits of 100 ordinary Tunisians were posted around the city of Le Kram replacing those of the ousted president. Destroyed prisons that once held political prisoners and mansions that belonged to members of Ben-Ali's family were covered in murals by graffiti artists. Graffiti was also often used as a criticism of repression under Ben-Ali's leadership, with artists writing "404 Not Found" over his face. This message would often come up when searching the internet for anything deemed undesirable or inappropriate by RCD. Street art would also often depict protesters who had died at the hands of police violence, or celebrations of revolution.
Music Hip-hop music was also an important site of resistance messaging. Rap music, already popular among young Tunisians, became a medium of protest against Ben-Ali in the months leading up to his arrest, launching the genre to new levels of popularity. "Rais Lebled" by El General (Hamada Ben-Amor) went viral internationally just weeks before protests began. This song addressed inequality and corruption within Ben-Ali's government, and contributed to growing dissatisfaction within Tunisia. Themes of police brutality, sexism, poverty, and censorship were discussed through song lyrics and associated music videos.
Cartoons Political cartoons were shared most prolifically on social media after the protests ended. Cartoons depicted hope for peace and the new electoral system, fear of radicalism, and disagreement over how the country should move forward. Cartoonists represented pride in Tunisia's successful revolution, metaphorically showing Tunisia as a sole red rose in a barren landscape. Willis from Tunis, a cat cartoon character created by Nadia Khiari, also became an internet sensation. The Willis from Tunis cartoons published to Facebook documented the aftermath of the revolution, and celebrated a Tunisia free of censorship.
Syria The Syrian revolution, or Syrian Revolution of Dignity, was a major political movement from 2011 to 2012 consisting of mass protests and uprisings. Syria was one of the many countries to revolt against their leaders in the larger movement known as the Arab Spring. The main goal of the uprising was the ousting of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad from office, with protesters often relying on humor and mockery to demean the leader and call for freedom. Common forms of art during the Syrian Revolution include short films, music, and cartoons.
Satire Satirical commentary was commonly used during the Syrian revolution as a means of political critique, often focusing on self-mockery, humor, and exaggeration. Satire was also used as a medium for political critique in the form of video. Top Goon: Diaries of a Little Dictator was a series of short videos posted on YouTube beginning in November 2011 by the Syrian puppet theater group called Masasit Mati. The videos, with Arabic dialogue and English subtitles, featured a highly exaggerated depiction of Bashar al-Assad as a puppet. With an elongated face, an oversized pointed nose, and bushy eyebrows, the puppet version of the president is referred to as "Beeshu," a diminutive form of "Bashar." Through five to eight-minute episodes, the leader is repeatedly mocked through the puppet's high-pitched laugh accompanied by Bashar's infamous lisp. He is portrayed as a power-hungry dictator, often infantilized as a narcissistic, childlike leader. The director of Masasit Mati, Jamil (pseudonym), told Al-Jazeera: "We tried to break the glorified image of the dictator." Season 1 of Top Goon was composed of 13 episodes. A Season 2 was posted from July to November 2012 and featured 17 episodes.
Music One of the most powerful songs of the uprising was "Yalla Erhal Ya Bashar" ("Come on Bashar, Leave"), written in August 2011 by Hama-based Ibrahim Qashoush. The song calls for the ejection of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and his brother, Maher, from office:Oh Bashar, you are not one of us, take Maher and leave us.
Your legitimacy here has ended
Come on, Bashar, leave us
Bashar, you are a liar, to hell with you and your speech
Freedom is at the door
Come on, Bashar, leave us
Oh Mahir, you are a coward and you are an American agent
The Syrian people will not be humiliated
Come on, Bashar, leave us
Bashar, fart on you and on those who support you
We can’t even look at you
Come on, Bashar, leave us
Bashar, stop running around, your blood will be shed in Hama
Your mistakes will not be forgiven
Come on, Bashar, leave us
Bashar, you are an infiltrator, fart on you and on the Ba’th Party
Go fix your lisp
Come on, Bashar, leave us
Syria wants freedom
We will topple Bashar with our strong will
Syria wants freedom
Without Mahir and Bashar and all this savage gang
Syria wants freedomThe song's popularity was intensified further after Qashoush's body was discovered in a river with his vocal cords ripped out days after performing his song in front of a crowd. The artist became a martyr for the revolution and his songs spread throughout Syria, uniting people under the call for liberation.
Cartoons Political cartoonist Ali Farzat, who openly criticized Assad's government in his work, was one of Syria's most prominent political cartoonists during the 2011 uprisings. In August 2011 he was pulled from his car and severely beaten by regime forces, leaving his hands broken. The artist survived and continued making art. He later posted a cartoon of himself lying in a hospital bed holding up an obscene gesture with his bandaged hands. With a swollen, bruised eye and scratches down his face, the cartoon shows Farzat wrapped in hospital linens against a black background, his eyes pointed straight towards the viewers.
Egypt Prior to the 25 January Revolution, the Egyptian government largely restricted public political expression in public spaces. Street art quickly became the dominant form of political visual expression in Egypt as protests unfolded across the country. Artists used street art to create visual documentation of the protests that occurred throughout the revolution in real time. Shifts in the power dynamics between citizens and the state bolstered the democratization of art through street art in public spaces. People felt more open to expressing thoughts on society, religion, and politics more openly, challenging the conservative Egyptian socio-political status quo.
On Mohamed Mahmoud Street, a main road leading directly to Tahrir Square, a long wall outside of the old American University of Cairo campus quickly became the prominent site for both revolutionary street art and violence. Nicknamed "Martyr’s Road" by activists, Mohamed Mahmoud Street became a place for artists to comment on social and political ideas and also memorialize victims of state violence, particularly liberal protestors killed in the 2011 revolution.
Music was an important tool used at protests to remind protestors of the purpose of the revolution. Musicians composed improvised songs that incorporated witty criticisms of political figures with popular slogans chanted during the revolution. Musicians would sing these revolutionary songs alongside the hundreds of thousands of people present at Tahrir Square, the main site of the 2011 revolution. These songs went viral on social media which helped the revolution garner greater support in Egypt and around the world.
Street art Egyptian artists and anonymous citizens began to make street art as a mode for self-expression. Creating street art allowed citizens to "reclaim" their public spaces and thus their country. It empowered citizens to take control of narratives surrounding the revolution as well as visualizing individuals’ sentiments regarding the major social and political upheaval the country was experiencing.
Egyptian street artists used murals and graffiti to memorialize protestors killed at Tahrir Square. The extensive art depicting martyrs aimed to serve as a continuing visual reminder of the revolution in Egyptian collective memory. Artists painted large portraits of victims, oftentimes depicted with wings in heaven, on the walls that lined Mohamed Mahmoud Street that would loom over the passerby that walked past them. Dates and locations of their deaths as well as related poems and quotes often appeared near these memorials.
Graffiti served as a medium for citizens to express their criticisms about the Mubarak regime, visualize commentary on social and political affairs, and proclaim solidarity with other burgeoning revolutions occurring across the Arab world. Initial graffiti after the start of the 25 January revolution expressed citizens' desires for political change. While some of this was written in English, possibly to garner an international audience, the majority of graffiti was written in colloquial Arabic and involved specific Egyptian cultural references. Common graffiti included remarks about national pride and unity, as well as hope for Egypt's future.