E-raamat: War of Colors: Graffiti and Street Art in Postwar Beirut

"Street art and graffiti have a long, rich history in the Middle East, but they have become especially important over the last couple of decades as wars, revolutions, and unrest have inspired artists to engage with the rapidly changing social dynamics ofthe region. Sinno, a child of Lebanon's Civil War that ended in 1990, examines the various ways that such art has been used in postwar Beirut and how it "articulates the contesting voices, sociopolitical events, cries of help, moments of hope, and acts of protest that characterized the country's ordinary and extraordinary moments." Through the chapters, Sinno analyzes how street art can reclaim and transform cityscapes that were damaged or destroyed during the war, give voice to women and LGBTQ people who are often neglected, honor cultural icons, protest government and police corruption, draw attention to concerns such as climate change or sectarianism, and spur activism. She also looks at how Beiruti graffiti engages with concerns outside of Lebanon, including the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Arab Spring, and the Armenian Genocide"--

Demonstrates the role of Beirut’s postwar graffiti and street art in transforming the cityscape and animating resistance.

Over the last two decades in Beirut, graffiti makers have engaged in a fierce “war of colors,” seeking to disrupt and transform the city’s physical and social spaces. In A War of Colors, Nadine Sinno examines how graffiti and street art have been used in postwar Beirut to comment on the rapidly changing social dynamics of the country and region. Analyzing how graffiti makers can reclaim and transform cityscapes that were damaged or monopolized by militias during the war, Sinno explores graffiti’s other roles, including forging civic engagement, commemorating cultural icons, protesting political corruption and environmental violence, and animating resistance. In addition, she argues that graffiti making can offer voices to those who are often marginalized, especially women and LGBTQ people. Copiously illustrated with images of graffiti and street art, A War of Colors is a visually captivating and thought-provoking journey through Beirut, where local and global discourses intersect on both scarred and polished walls in the city.