Cairo street art won't be white washed

Egyptian authorities try to clean away revolutionary graffiti, but artists keep coming back

Published October 9, 2012 8:01PM (EDT)

 Cairo mural featuring deposed President Mubarak (via Twitter user @F_Barreiro)
Cairo mural featuring deposed President Mubarak (via Twitter user @F_Barreiro)

Large and vivid murals leading away from Cairo's Tahrir square have, since last year, become unofficial shrines for those killed by the army and the police in Egypt's uprising.

Despite the street art's popularity with locals and visitors, last month municipal workers white washed the mural along Mohamed Mahmoud Street (dubbed "Martyrs' Row"). The Guardian described the cleaning as a "prosaic" attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood leadership to "clean up the streets." However, street artists have responded with enthusiasm, repainting the newly white walls with new graffiti messages, murals and tributes to revolutionaries. As the Guardian noted, a recent message scrawled on Mohamed Mahmoud Street reads, "Erase it again, you cowardly regime."

Twitter user @F_Barreiro tweeted this image on Oct. 9 of Cairo street art, featuring deposed President Hosni Mubarak:
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While user @Farahismail28 posted this on Oct. 6:
[embedtweet id="254605644055842816"]

 


By Natasha Lennard

Natasha Lennard is an assistant news editor at Salon, covering non-electoral politics, general news and rabble-rousing. Follow her on Twitter @natashalennard, email nlennard@salon.com.

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Arab Spring Art Egypt Egyptian Protests Graffiti Hosni Mubarak Muslim Brotherhood Street Art Tahrir Square