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International artists paint the walls of a historic Tunisian village

September 17, 2014
Artists coming from different countries are expected to be “aware of their surrounding” and understand the nature and the history of the buildings they are painting on. Photo by Aline Deschamps

By Marwa Morgan, Daily News Egypt Old white walls hug the narrow alleys of Erriadh village, the sound of the wind shaking palm leaves fills the place. The small village, which lies off the tourist track on the Tunisian island of Djerba hosts an untraditional project in the middle of its traditional houses. Bringing in about 150 street artists of 30 nationalities, Mehdi Ben Cheikh has launched “Djerbahood”, an in-situ gallery that features graffiti painted on the walls of Erriadh’s buildings, redefining its public space. Between June and September, a group of artists come to Djerbahood, small groups of artists staying a week at a time, and work during their stay. Ben Cheikh founded “Gallerie itinerrance”, an art gallery in Paris showing street art since 2004. After the success of his “Tour Paris 13” project, Ben Cheikh thought of doing a similar project locally. The idea behind the project is for people from all over the world to come and produce art in an Arab country. “What I would like to do is talk about the Arab world in a different way, a positive way,” he said. Bringing street art…


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