Phoenix
Mural by Kabir Mokamel (Artlords)
Location: Ioakimion Girls High School
15.11.2024 – 30.11.2024
Artist Kabir Mokamel (ArtLords) will create a Mural in between November 15th and 30th of November at Ioakimion Girls High School. The motive was developed in cooperation with artists in different countries on the Kite Runner Platform since August.
Founded in 2014 in the heart of Kabul, Afghanistan, ArtLords emerged as a grassroots movement of artists and volunteers, driven by the desire to harness the transformative power of art. The story began with a bold vision: to use the blank walls of Kabul as canvases to paint messages of peace, hope, and social change.
“It started in 2014 as a result of being sick of the sight of blast walls throughout the city,” co-founder, Omaid Sharifi, told us in 2022 during the Art-Event of the Goethe-Institut in Exile Afghanistan in Berlin. “I always thought of Kabul as a beautiful city, but these blast walls block roads and views – it is suffocating. I felt like I couldn’t breathe.”
Together with co-founder Kabir Mokamel and a group of others, they received permission from the government to paint the gray concrete structures with eye-catching images to make them disappear while conveying important political messages to drive social change.
Kabir Mokamel: “ArtLords – the name deliberately chosen as a positive spin on the well-known terms “warlords” and “drug lords” – now has a team of more than 50 to 100 people who have painted about 2,000 murals across 22 of the country’s 34 provinces.”
As Afghanistan’s first organization to start mural painting in Kabul, we have transformed the city’s landscape, turning somber blast walls into vibrant expressions of community voice and resilience. From our initial projects addressing social issues, ArtLords has grown into a global movement, reaching all 34 provinces of Afghanistan and beyond. Our murals, often a reflection of the collective Afghan experience, have become symbols of the country’s unyielding spirit and desire for a harmonious future. We’ve marked significant milestones along the way – from our award-winning ‘I See You’ anti-corruption campaign to our international exhibitions and peace-building initiatives.
The Memento Festival is supported by
