By Ewelina Lepionko
The rapidly deteriorating situation in Kabul has residents of the Afghan capital wondering what happens next now that Taliban fighters have entered the city.
The situation is very chaotic. The people, the city, they all look very scared, the history is repeating itself again. They feel that they are left at the mercy of a group that we know they are very brutal.
A city at war, the Afghan capital is among the ugliest in the world.
Good morning #Kabul ??? - we are painting a mural today-now. It reminded me of the famous scene from @TitanicMovie, where the musicians play until the ship sinks. I hope you are enjoying as you see our miseries - world ? pic.twitter.com/5JXsVhxQkJ
— Omaid H. Sharifi-امید حفیظه شریفی (@OmaidSharifi) August 15, 2021
Wide avenues once lined with rose gardens are today gridlocked streets sandwiched by concrete blast walls. The towering walls multiplied almost overnight, appearing in double rows outside government buildings, businesses, embassies, and the homes of powerful people.
Somewhere between the blast walls, muralists until last days covering the Afghan capital with great art. With paintbrushes, they adorned Kabul’s grey walls with vivid imagery. The barriers have been transformed into politically inspired murals, which the artists hope will create “visual dialogue” and raise awareness of corruption and injustices. But now everything is changing.
I tell them it’s really important because the minute you put the stroke of a brush on a wall, that much of the wall has disappeared.
Kabir Mokamel
Artists also found themselves in a difficult situation. They don't know what will happen to them under the Taliban. Artists are forced to rethink how to operate in such a hazardous environment, but they won’t give up.
One of them is Omaid Sharifi, president, and co-founder of ArtLords, a non-profit arts organization in Kabul. He is also the co-founder of the “I See You” campaign against corruption, the Sela Foundation in Afghanistan, and the Hamdeli Network aimed at bringing joy to Afghan citizens. He is also a Millennium Leadership Fellow with Atlantic Council and a Rumsfeld Foundation Fellow. He has also won several awards, including the Anti-Corruption Excellence Award Winner from Ban Ki-Moon for his contribution towards anti-corruption campaigns and initiating change in society.
Let’s not panic Kabul. We will figure it out.
Omaid Sharifi
ArtLords is a global grassroots art for social change movement. It has a broad social activist and volunteers base. They try to transform the aggressive face of Kabul, spoiled by blast walls into a pleasant visual experience. Those days it becoming way difficult.
2 The real Lords in #Afghanistan - the #ArtLords ❤️ pic.twitter.com/zBxU3WzPem
— Ursula Schuepbach ? (@USchuepbach) August 13, 2021
Artlords was established in 2014. It is the pioneer and the first organization that started mural paintings in Afghanistan. It is a movement of artists motivated by the desire to pave the way for social transformation.
By placing issues concerning ordinary citizens on the blast walls, ArtLords has been enabled to create a space where social issues can be expressed in a visual manner and discussed in the street, where the open art workshops take place. ArtLords provide a platform for dialogue among ordinary people on the streets of Kabul. It is giving a visual voice to the voiceless, which is the motivating dynamic behind the very existence of the movement.
artlords.com
ArtLords wants to promote the message of peace in Afghanistan through the expressivity of the arts and culture. It wished to portray a visual representation of the communities’ desire to move from war towards peace. Are their goals possible today?
