The contemporary epoch of struggle: Anti-austerity protests, the arab uprisings and occupy wall street

Graffiti, a tool for change Bahia Shehab for translating emotions during the Egyptian revolution, art sublimated violence and translated emotions. Music, theatre, video art, graffiti and cartoons are few examples of media of protest that overtook the streets and cyberspace. Strong emotions brought about intense creativity, and in the process graffti artists and laymen alike provide people with exceptional examples of how to express dissidence and solidarity. Focusing on graffiti the author engages with collaborative creative protest examples and his own contribution to them and treats the palimpsests that emerge out of the interaction among graffiti artists and the public as a form of visual conversation. Bahia Shehab is Associate Professor of Professional Practice and director of the Visual Cultures and Graphic Design programmes at the American University in Cairo. She has developed and launched the new graphic design major for the Department of the Arts, with courses focused mainly on the visual culture of the Arab world.