Djerbahood was a street art event in which artists from all over the world gathered in the village of Erriadh on the Tunisian island Djerba to create 250 mural paintings. The project was established by the Itinerrance de Paris gallery in June 2014.

Djerbahood
THE HOOD letters at the entrance of Erriadh quarter
Map
Established2014
LocationDjerbahood, Erriadh, 4060, Tunisia
TypeUrban art, open sky, graffiti
Collection size250
DirectorMehdi Ben Cheikh
Websitewww.djerbahood.com

The project

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The name of the project, Djerbahood, was imposed to the organizers by the giant letters THE HOOD installed by Rodolphe Cintorino at the entrance of the village, also known as El Hara Sghira or "the small neighborhood" in Arabic.[1] In order to achieve the 250 individual and collective artistic works, the artists used over 4500 painting sprays during the gathering.[2]

 
Mehdi Ben Cheikh

According to Mehdi Ben Cheikh, founder of the project and director of Itinerrance de Paris gallery, Djerbahood represents "a unique artistic adventure in the world of urban arts, and an effervescence movement in a developing country".[3] Thanks to the Tunisian phone operator Ooredoo Tunisia, a virtual tour of the village streets is possible and available on the official website of the project.

The village

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Erriadh quarter

The founders chose Erriadh for its traditional architecture, and thanks to Djerbahood, the village became an attractive destination for tourists. In fact, the whole island, which had suffered from mismanaged garbage collection after the 2011 revolution, gained positive attention thanks to the project.[4] Djerbahood is also a human adventure that led to meetings between artists and locals. All the citizens and merchants of the quarter supported the team for the installations and the material supply. In fact, Mehdi Ben Cheikh had to convince them to "offer" their walls to the artists. And according to him, some of the residents who were reluctant in the beginning later asked the organizing committee and the artists to come and paint on their walls as well.

The artists

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150 street artists of 30 nationalities participated in the event, including Abbès Boukhobza, Adellatif Moustad, Add Fuel, Alexis Diaz, Amose, Arraiano, Axel Void, Aya Tarek, AZ, Bomk, Brusk, B-Toy, C215, Cekis, Curiot, Dabro, Dan23, David de la Mano, Deyaa, Dome, Elliot Tupac, eL Seed, Elphege, Claudio Ethos, EVOCA1, Faith47, Fintan Magee, Hendrik Beikirch (ecb), Herbert Baglione, Hyuro, Inkman, INTI, Jace, Jasm1, Jaz, Kan, Katre, Know Hope, Kool Koor, Laguna, Liliwenn, Logan Hicks, M-City, Maatoug, Malakkai, Mário Belém, Mazen, Mohamed V, Monica Candilao, Mosko, Myneandyours, Nadhem & Rim, Najah Zarbout, Nebay, Nespoon, Nilko White, Nina, Orticanoodles, Pantónio, Phlegm, Pum Pum, REA, ROA, Rodolphe Cintorino, Salma, Saner, Sean Hart, Sebastián Velasco, Seth (Julien Malland), Shoof, ST4CREW, Stephan Doitschinoff, Stew, Stinkfish, Sunra, Swoon, Tahar Mgadmini, Tinho, Twoone, UNO370, Vajo, WAIS1, Wisetwo, Wisign, Wissem, Yazan Halwani, Sepha, Sied Lasram, 3ZS.[5]

Media coverage

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The event had a large press coverage with hundreds of articles from 70 countries in just few months, e.g. The New York Times,[6] The Guardian,[7] Le Monde,[8] Libération,[9] The Huffington Post,[10] La Repubblica,[11] Vogue Italia,[12] Al Jazeera,[13] BBC News,[14] Le Mouv'[15] and France Inter.[16]

 
Djerbahood

A documentary web series of ten episodes was made and shared on the Creative ARTE platform showing backstage scenes with the artists.

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References

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  1. ^ "Djerbahood, musée idéal du street art - La Croix". La Croix. la-croix.com. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  2. ^ "Présentation des premières œuvres réalisées lors du projet Djerbahood - News - Street-art et Graffiti - FatCap". fatcap.org. Archived from the original on 2018-12-03. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  3. ^ "www.letemps.com.tn/article/86028/v%C3%A9ritable-mus%C3%A9e-%C3%A0-ciel-ouvert". letemps.com.tn. Retrieved 2017-07-11.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "L'utopie en marche de DjerbaHood - NOVAPLANET". novaplanet.com. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  5. ^ Ben Cheikh, Mehdi (2015). Djerbahood: le musée de street art à ciel ouvert. Albin Michel.
  6. ^ Hossenally, Rooksana (September 2014). "In Tunisia, Something Tactile in the 'Island of Dreams' - The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  7. ^ Fidler, Matt (3 September 2014). "Tunisian street art - in pictures - Art and design - The Guardian". The Guardian. theguardian.com. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  8. ^ ""Bienvenue à Djerbahood", le quartier d'été du street art". lemonde.fr. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  9. ^ "Djerba, Orient du street art - Culture / Next". next.liberation.fr. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  10. ^ "PHOTOS. Djerbahood : Quand le street-art réveille une bourgade tunisienne endormie". huffingtonpost.fr. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  11. ^ "Tunisia, la street art che si adatta: graffiti 3D grazie alle cupole - Repubblica.it". repubblica.it. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  12. ^ "Djerbahood - Vogue.it". vogue.it. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  13. ^ "In Pictures: Tunisia town embraces street art - Al Jazeera English". aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  14. ^ "Day in pictures: 11 August 2014 - BBC News". BBC News. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  15. ^ "Djerbahood : premier musée de street art à ciel ouvert / mouv'". mouv.fr. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  16. ^ "Renaître à Djerbahood du 18 septembre 2014 - France Inter". franceinter.fr. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
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