Art in Revolt: Palestinian and Lebanese Activist Art in the 21st Century

Abstract

Following the Arab Spring that shook the Middle East and North Africa, artistic expression and activist art became a fundamental tool in protesting and uniting a people during a time of conflict. By looking at different crises in the 21st century within both Palestine and Lebanon and then analyzing any artwork born of the same period, we can truly identify the way visual representations were used and how effective they were. By pinpointing key moments in modern levantine history and focusing on the most active artists during that time, whether they were students of the fine arts or street artists whose graffiti spoke to a nation, we can gain insight and a more transparent view into the issue at hand and that how they affected the lives of the average citizen. Through the looking glass of these artists, we can blur the line between being a viewer and being a participant. We will look at both Palestine and Lebanon, their respective conflicts, and how art was used either as an act of defiance or a way to document the traumatic events. In doing so we will see that similar areas, while undergoing different cataclysms, had a vibrant artistic revival in response.