PRESS RELEASE
Artists, civil society, and public institutions stand together amid tough times
For Immediate Release
9 December 2013
TRIPOLI – The World Organization against Torture (OMCT) is hosting from 6-10 December an ambitious program of graffiti and and hip hop workshops with youth in Tripoli, Libya to mark Human Rights Day. Under the banners “No to torture” and “Nothing can justify torture” the series is being launched in partnership with the National Council for Civil Liberties and Human Rights, the Cultural Council of the Union for the Mediterranean, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), and a dozen other local and international partners. The program has seen three days of workshops in graffiti arts and hip hop music for youth, internally displaced persons, and victims of human rights violations. In parallel, more than fifteen graffiti artists from across the region are creating murals in four strategic cross-sections of the city, raising their spray cans to condemn extreme violence and share their hope for Libya’s future. On December 10, the activities will culminate in a day of public events at Zawett Al Dahmani theatre with a public debate, film screenings, and a hip hop concert.
Workshop (or “playshop”) participants from the 6-8 December included
youth from the Scouts of Tripoli, the Faculty of Fine Arts, and IDP camps
(notably from Tawergha). The youngsters were given tools, inspiration and space
to reflect and speak out on the subject of human rights, whether by graffiti,
music or dance. The playshops were facilitated by Ammar Abo Bakr – one of the
Egyptian revolution’s most celebrated muralists – and artist Nadia Khiari – also
known as Willis from Tunis – whose sardonic cartoons give a frank take on
Tunisian politics. The music playshops were facilitated by Wissam Al Malek and
Hagagy Eshkoyat of popular Tripoli-based hip hop group Razor Records.
On Sunday, December 8, with the help of the International
Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims, OMCT held a special session for
torture victims and their families, helping them harness the creative process
to reconcile emotional conflicts and assuage their trauma in the presence of a
psychologist. Willis from Tunis was on site to share her experience with using art
to express the suffering of her country.
Ammar Abo Bakr and Willis from Tunis are joined by local and
international street artists, including Tripoli’s Ayman El Bohly and Tunis’
Meen One, to create murals across the city on the theme of human rights. From
across Tripoli Court to Martyrs’ Square to the walls of a former detention
center, the fight against torture and ill-treatment are entering public space
through highly visible and creative street art that touches all passersby.
Graffiti as a medium of expression has grown considerably over the course of
the Arab revolutions, to convey social and political messages free of
censorship found in the mainstream and to unleash artistic potential heretofore
suppressed.
The results of the workshops and street art will be unveiled
on 10 December through a series of public events. These will include a public
debate that will give voice to civil society and public institutions on ways to
fight torture and ill-treatment in a transitional and insecure context. The day
will continue with a screening of short films, namely two films selected in the
Libya Movie Awards and a film on the work of the International Rehabilitation
Council for Torture Victims (IRCT). The evening will conclude with a concert by
the hip hop group Razor Records and their guests, dedicated to the unity of
Libya and the rejection of violence. The concert will feature a special
performance by the youth of the hip hop playshops.
The events held around Human Rights Day will unfold at the Zawett
Al Dahmani theatre thanks to the municipality. Neglected for some time, the
theatre itself will be revived through these activities. The Ministry of
Culture, local authorities, young volunteers and artists, and others are
mobilizing to provide a new site for associative and artistic expression in the
community.
Follow the “No to torture” campaign for Human Rights Day at: https://www.facebook.com/events/516626188444365/
Media contacts
Karim SALEM – +218 928387663
– ks@omct.org
Aude THEPENIER — aude.thepenier@um-elysee.fr
Currun SINGH – cs@omct.org

The joint OMCT-IRCT project in Libya is
generously supported by the European Union.