Egyptian Becomes First Arab Female to Win UN Prize for Street Art
Each year, the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture rewards two laureates for their work and outstanding achievements. This year Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, will award Egyptian-Lebanese visual artist, Bahia Shehab, for her use of Arabic calligraphy in street art.
Shehab is the first female to receive the UNESCO-Sharjah award. She won the award for her project ‘No, A Thousand Times No,’ which depicts the one thousand different ways to say ‘No’ in Arabic. The project was inspired by her participation in an exhibition commemorating 100 years of Islamic art in Europe using Arabic script for the artwork.
“Her artistic work in graffiti brings to the forefront issues pertaining to political and economic injustices, as well as personal issues and gender-based violations. Her work reflects her conviction that art is a tool for change that can provoke people to leave their comfort zone and engage in action for justice,” the UNESCO statement added.
“No to military rule, no to a new Pharaoh, no to burning books, no to blinding heroes and no to stripping the people” are all messages sprayed by Shehab across Tahrir Square and Cairo’s streets following Jan 25 2011 revolution. The writings depicted everything the artist stood up against.
