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Interrupt this Program

This street artist is recovering the walls of Beirut with images that unite

Yazan Halwani's mission is to replace photos of corrupt politicians on the street with art. His “calligraffiti” depicts subjects who unite all Beirutis. “These figures are an association of what our culture is — how we define it.”

“Let's praise our cultural icons instead of our war criminals. Maybe we would move forward then."

CBC Arts ·

From today until the premiere of Interrupt This Program on Nov. 6, Yazan Halwani will be taking over the @CBCArts Instagram feed. Make sure to follow along as he gives you a window into his creative process and the larger Beirut street art world.

Name: Yazan Halwani
Age: 22
Hometown: Beirut, Lebanon
Occupation: Street artist combining Arabic calligraphy and graffiti on walls throughout Beirut and beyond

Mission: To replace the ubiquitous images of corrupt politicians with his art. His "calligraffiti" depicts subjects who unite all Beirutis. "These figures are an association of what our culture is — how we define it."

Yazan Halwani (Courtesy of Productions Emergent Inc.)

The subjects of his murals include Ali Abdallah, a beloved homeless man who died in the cold (the mural is the first image in the gallery above). "I decided to do his portrait as a memorial of his existence," he said, "but also as a reminder that you don't have to hear a tragic story about a homeless man dying in the winter to start helping — you can always help."

In a popular strip in east Beirut, he painted the famous singer Fairouz. He has also captured Mahmoud Darwish, "a very prominent Arab poet who took a more peaceful approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."

Although graffiti is technically illegal in Beirut, Yazan finds a "nice nuance" when dealing with the law. "The authorities stop me and question me for a while, but you just need to be polite. I show them how the wall is dirty and that I'm actually cleaning it and making it better. Then after a while, they become your friend and ask if they can paint something, and ask me where I learned how to do it and why I'm doing it.

"So technically graffiti is illegal but if you make something that is clearly an improvement of an existing wall, people are actually very nice about it. But when it's more political or something like that, you might get into trouble."

Follow: @YazanHalwani on Instagram

Watch Interrupt This Program Friday November 6, at 8:30/9pm NT​