Skip to content
  • Image
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Podcasts
  • Email
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • News
  • Features
  • Comment
  • Store
The Arab Daily News

The Arab Daily News

Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem

  • About
    • About
    • Our Writers
    • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
    • Book Store
    • Contact
    • Submit Book Reviews, Press Releases
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Corrections Policy
    • Profile on Ray Hanania
  • Features
    • Food
    • Book Review
    • Humor
    • Movies
    • Travel
  • Arab Stores Targeted
  • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Heritage America resources
    • Directory
      • Groups & Organizations
      • Mosques, Churches
      • Restaurants
      • 2008 & 2014 Arab Media Directories
    • National Arab Heritage Month
    • Video: Chicago Arab History
    • Video: Photo Array of Chicago Arabs
    • Overview of Arabs in America
    • Hanania standup comedy
    • Arabs on the Titanic
    • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
    • Arab News Ray Hanania Radio
    • Ray Hanania on Politics Podcast
    • Podcast Info
    • Hanania Podcast intro
    • Live Arab Radio
  • Your Views
  • Submit Press Release
  • Toggle search form
  • The American Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (American FRRME) helping Christians in Iraq
    New report on Christians in Iraq shows desperate situation and needs Arab World
  • Winter in Bekaa Lebanon January 2015 Photo courtesy of NRC Lebanon. January 7, 2015 in Bekaa valley Lebanon. Heavy snowfall in Lebanon January 7, 2015. Yesterday staff from NRC Lebanon’s Bekaa office were working with refugees to put in place flood mitigation measures in advance of the forecast harsh storm which hit overnight. Field teams distributed 1,205 plywood sheets and 885 bricks as floor-raising kits for tents in two settlements in the town of Sarain, and 250 wooden pallets to ensure a clear pathway in five settlements in the town at risk of flooding. Niamh Murnaghan, NRC’s Country Director in Lebanon said, “This morning residents of these informal settlements awoke to a knee-deep blanket of snow. With roads impassable in Bekaa, our staff have not been able to reach refugee settlements, but refugees have sent photos of themselves clearing the snow from their tents.” Photo credit: NRC Lebanon/Syrian refugees in Lebanon. January 7, 2015 in Bekaa valley Lebanon. Heavy snowfall in Lebanon January 7, 2015. Yesterday staff from NRC Lebanon’s Bekaa office were working with refugees to put in place flood mitigation measures in advance of the forecast harsh storm which hit overnight. Field teams distributed 1,205 plywood sheets and 885 bricks as floor-raising kits for tents in two settlements in the town of Sarain, and 250 wooden pallets to ensure a clear pathway in five settlements in the town at risk of flooding. Niamh Murnaghan, NRC’s Country Director in Lebanon said, “This morning residents of these informal settlements awoke to a knee-deep blanket of snow. With roads impassable in Bekaa, our staff have not been able to reach refugee settlements, but refugees have sent photos of themselves clearing the snow from their tents.” Photo credit: NRC Lebanon/Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
    AHRC Observes World Refugee Day American Arabs
  • Endorsements: Democrats in the Illinois June 28, 2022 Primary election Activism
  • The Arab Daily News candidate endorsements: Cook County, Illinois American Arabs
  • Endorsements: Republicans in the Illinois Republican Primary Election June 28, 2022 Election
  • Joseph Gutman was appointed by Gov. Pritzker to serve as a Member of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Gutman was a Partner at BDT & Company from 2017 until retiring in January 2020 where he remains a consultant today.
    Gov Pritzker makes more appointments to state commissions, boards but no Arabs American Arabs
  • World Jewish Congress Chairman Ronald S. Lauder
    WJC President Ronald S. Lauder Receives France’s Top Distinction  Activism
  • Project DYNAMO rescues more than 600 people from Mariupol, Ukraine over the last week Major Mariupol rescue operation conducted by Project DYNAMO, more than 480 people from Mariupol as city under violent siege falling to Russian forces. 
    Project DYNAMO rescues more than 600 people from Mariupol, Ukraine over the last week Human Rights
  • US Congressman Sean Casten, 6th District, Illinois
    Congressman Sean Casten joins Ray Hanania Radio Show American Arabs
  • The U.S.S. Liberty photo courtesy of the USS Liberty Veterans.
    Survivors of Israel’s strike on USS Liberty commemorate 55th year June 6 – 8 American Arabs
  • Imad Hamad Director American Human Rights Council
    AHRC Calls for Moral Consistency on Human Rights, Urges President Biden to Pause His Trip to Israel: American Arabs
  • AHRC Logo new Feb 2021
    AHRC hosts an open meeting with TSA & community Activism
  • Former City Hall reporter Ray Hanania, ShawnTe Raines-Welch and Nick Kantas, candidates for Judge in the 4th SubCircuit, and Cook County Commissioner Frank Aguilar.
    Nearly 100 candidates, officials address Arab Democratic Club forum Sunday American Arabs
  • Citgo Gas Station and Quik Mart at 3759 W. Chicago Ave in Chicago ordered closed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot because a street gang member with an AK-47 killed someone in front of the store. Only Arab and Muslim stores are being closed by the Mayor
    Arabs and Muslim blast Mayor lightfoot for racist store closings American Arabs
  • Closure notice posted on the doors and windows of Arab American businesses during Mayor Lori Lightfoot's closure of Arab owned stores in June - Sept. 2021. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Chicago aldermen to host “forum” to explore Mayor Lightfoot’s racist crackdown on Arab stores Activism

Reviving the Culture of Hamra Street in Lebanon

Posted on November 29, 2016September 25, 2018 By Managing Writer No Comments on Reviving the Culture of Hamra Street in Lebanon
SHARE ...
2         
 
  
2
Shares

  • Tweet

Reclaiming the culture of Lebanon with culture and art: reviving Hamra Street with graffiti. 

By: Kerning Cultures


Yazan Halwani is a street artist, still in his early 20s. Over the past year, I’ve met with Yazan a few times, following his work closely and always, with great admiration. When I finally got to sit down with him to record this episode, it was in a large studio that was given to him to use in the building on which he had just finished his iconic Sabah mural – how appropriate, I thought.

Photo Credit: @yazanhalwani. “Sabah” by night, painted in Beirut, Lebanon.

There were no chairs in this studio – only large canvases laid along the walls and concrete columns, paint spread across the room on canvas and floor, and a few large wooden wheels that we tried to sit on.

Photo Credit: @yazanhalwani

Yazan is energetic and friendly. Fluent in three languages (at least), he speaks quickly and passionately about his art, and about the meaning behind each piece. It’s not just paint on a wall – it’s a statement, it’s a cultural diary, “I paint people that define the streets of Beirut or the cities of Lebanon, or Arabs in general. So it could range from Fairuz, to Sabah, to Mahmoud Darwish, who is a Palestinian poet but also a symbol of peaceful resistance within the Israeli-Arab conflict. If you read his poetry you would see his peaceful face of resistance, ” he tells me.

Photo Credit: @yazanhalwani “Mahmoud Darwish” @djerbahood project painted in Djerba, Tunisia.

But what makes Yazan different is not so much that he paints the popular Arab icons, it’s that he paints the non-obvious ones. He paints murals to commemorate the lives of people who touch our streets. He paints people like Ali Abdullah, a homeless man who used to live facing the American University of Beirut and was a regular face of this street before he passed away two years ago:

Photo Credit: @yazanhalwani Ali Abdullah, painted in Beirut, Lebanon.

Or, he paints people like my new favorite, Fares:

Photo Credit: @yazanhalwani painting Fares, “The Flower Salesman” in Dortmund, Germany.

Fares was a young Syrian boy who became a well-known figure among bar-goers on Beirut’s Hamra street for selling flowers all night outside the popular bars. Fares was adorable – soft spoken, big brown eyes, and hair that was always so slick and well kept. This summer, Fares died in Syria, like many other children, at the hands of the brutal civil war.

In September, Yazan completed a mural commemorating Fares in Dortmund, Germany, a city which has accepted hundreds of thousands of Syrian migrants and refugees. The young face will now grace all those who pass by him in Dortmund, far away from the conflict that took Fares’ life.

Photo Credit: @yazanhalwani Fares, “The Flower Salesman” in Dortmund, Germany.

For me, Yazan is the epitome of hope amongst the youth of Lebanon. He takes what others and I hope for Lebanon, and he translates it into beautiful visuals along the streets of our capitals.

But he cringes a little when I suggest that he may perhaps be a Lebanese icon himself, “I don’t feel comfortable being that to be honest, but I think I am the embodiment of a feeling that is here within Lebanese society. Especially the younger generation, but not so many people are doing something about it,” Yazan says.

“If you talk to any young person living in Lebanon now, he would talk to you about similar stuff. About the grasp of corrupt politicians to Lebanon, about hopes and dreams, about so many things, about taking back the city and so many people are working on that. I like to think I am just the expression of some people’s positive thoughts. That’s it.”

Featuring:

Yazan Halwani is a street artist from Beirut, Lebanon who paints murals through a combination of renewed Arabic calligraphy and portraits. Dubbed “Beirut’s Banksy” by Arab and international media, Yazan has painted in a number of countries including: France, Singapore, Germany, Beirut, Tunisia, and the UAE.

Maria Bashshur Abunnasr is a research associate at the Neighborhood Initiative and an oral history/history consultant at the American University of Beirut. She has a PhD in History, with an emphasis on oral and public history from University of Massachusetts Amherst, and her dissertation entitled The Making of Ras Beirut: A Landscape of Memory for Narratives of Exceptionalism, 1870-1975 attends to the history of Ras Beirut’s community, urbanization, and memory in relation to the American University of Beirut (AUB).

Credits
Written and directed by Dana Ballout with co-production by Hebah Fisher.
Sound design by Ramzi Bashour.
—
Special thanks to Yazan Halwani, Maria Abunnasr, with music by Khaled el Habr, “شارع الحمرا“  and Sabah “جيب المجوز يا عبود”

Originally featured on Kerning Cultures.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Managing Writer
Managing Writer
Managing Writer at The Arab Daily News online
The Arab Daily News is the newspaper of record for the Arab American Community, and publishes and writes original articles on news, features, commentary, business, politics, sports, entertainment and more. Managing Writer of the Arab Daily News, reviews and posts articles for the journalists and bloggers who submit their writings for this popular online newspaper newspaper.
Managing Writer
Latest posts by Managing Writer (see all)
  • Chicago aldermen to host forum on Arab businesses closed by Mayor Lightfoot - April 15, 2022
  • AHRC observes United Nations World Refugee Day (June 20) - June 20, 2021
  • Arab News, FII Institute partner to shed light on the future of regional media industry - April 19, 2021

  • Tweet

SHARE ...
2         
 
  
2
Shares
 
2
Shares
2         
 
 Tweet 
Arab World, Bloggers, Commentary, Features, Hebah Fisher, News, Photographs, Podcast Tags:art, art and culture, audio podcast, Beirut, culture, Graffiti, Kerning Cultures, Lebanon, podcast, podcasts

Post navigation

Previous Post: US Veterans to Deploy to Standing Rock: #Donald Trump #DAPL #DakotaPipeline #standingrock
Next Post: AHRC condemns heinous Ohio State University attack

Related Posts

  • Israeli Knesset Deputy Speaker Ahmad Tibi is beaten by Israeli police while participating in a protest against the relocation of the US Embassy Monday May 14, 2018. Photo courtesy of MK Ahmad Tibi
    Israel Supreme Court rejects “equality for all” bill Arab World
  • Bannon and Trump’s Bridge to The Left by way of Corporatist Globalist Media American Arabs
  • Arab name controversy reflects growing hate in America American Arabs
  • Christian Procession at Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Palestine. Photo courtesy of Maria Khoury
    Jordan King says he is committed to protecting Christian Arabs Arab World
  • Christian and Muslims iconic religious images in Occupied Jerusalem, Palestine. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Online series details Middle East security strategies Arab World
  • Radio Interview with Arab American publisher Mansour Tadros American Arabs

More Related Articles

President Obama strategy to defeat ISIL might not work Ali Younes
Press Release Obama condemns Chapel Hill killings Activism
Arafat’s legacy an inspiration to everyone seeking freedom, justice Bloggers
Houston Businessman Farouk Shami urges the 16th Annual Convention for the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation to invest in Palestine and help build a strong economy that will provide jobs and result in peace. Farouk Shami urges diaspora to build industry and jobs in Palestine American Arabs
Israeli soldiers and a member of Combatants for Peace, founded in 2006 in the belief that the cycle of violence can only be stopped when Israelis and Palestinians work together. Photo courtesy of Combatants for Peace Combatants for Peace expands its powerful voice in the United States Activism
Family members pray at the lifeless body of Funeral for Mazen Faqha murdered by Israeli assassin. Photo courtesy of Mohammed Asad. Israel suspected in murder of Palestinian Mazen Faqha Arab World

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • OPINION COLUMNS
  • Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
    Nearly four years in office, Pritzker fails to deliver on promises to Arab Americans
    June 12, 2022
  • Palestinian refugees forced to flee their homes at gunpoint by Jewish terrorist groups operating in Palestine in the 1930s, 1940s and after Israel was created on May 14, 1948. Photo courtesy of the United Nations
    Unresolved status of Palestinian rights makes UNRWA essential
    May 7, 2022
  • The Ray Hanania Radio Show Live Wed 5 PM EST in Detroit, Washington DC, Ontario and on Thursday in Chicago. Watch the program live at Facebook.com/ArabNews
    Second Season of “The Ray Hanania Show” Arab American radio launches April 6
    April 4, 2022
  • Hollywood Sign
    Will Smith violence takes Oscar protests to dangerous level
    March 31, 2022
  • NEWS
  • The American Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (American FRRME) helping Christians in Iraq
    New report on Christians in Iraq shows desperate situation and needs
    June 20, 2022
  • Winter in Bekaa Lebanon January 2015 Photo courtesy of NRC Lebanon. January 7, 2015 in Bekaa valley Lebanon. Heavy snowfall in Lebanon January 7, 2015. Yesterday staff from NRC Lebanon’s Bekaa office were working with refugees to put in place flood mitigation measures in advance of the forecast harsh storm which hit overnight. Field teams distributed 1,205 plywood sheets and 885 bricks as floor-raising kits for tents in two settlements in the town of Sarain, and 250 wooden pallets to ensure a clear pathway in five settlements in the town at risk of flooding. Niamh Murnaghan, NRC’s Country Director in Lebanon said, “This morning residents of these informal settlements awoke to a knee-deep blanket of snow. With roads impassable in Bekaa, our staff have not been able to reach refugee settlements, but refugees have sent photos of themselves clearing the snow from their tents.” Photo credit: NRC Lebanon/Syrian refugees in Lebanon. January 7, 2015 in Bekaa valley Lebanon. Heavy snowfall in Lebanon January 7, 2015. Yesterday staff from NRC Lebanon’s Bekaa office were working with refugees to put in place flood mitigation measures in advance of the forecast harsh storm which hit overnight. Field teams distributed 1,205 plywood sheets and 885 bricks as floor-raising kits for tents in two settlements in the town of Sarain, and 250 wooden pallets to ensure a clear pathway in five settlements in the town at risk of flooding. Niamh Murnaghan, NRC’s Country Director in Lebanon said, “This morning residents of these informal settlements awoke to a knee-deep blanket of snow. With roads impassable in Bekaa, our staff have not been able to reach refugee settlements, but refugees have sent photos of themselves clearing the snow from their tents.” Photo credit: NRC Lebanon/Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
    AHRC Observes World Refugee Day
    June 20, 2022
  • Joseph Gutman was appointed by Gov. Pritzker to serve as a Member of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Gutman was a Partner at BDT & Company from 2017 until retiring in January 2020 where he remains a consultant today.
    Gov Pritzker makes more appointments to state commissions, boards but no Arabs
    June 17, 2022
  • Endorsements: Republicans in the Illinois Republican Primary Election June 28, 2022
    June 16, 2022
  • NEWSWIRE
  • Imad Hamad Director American Human Rights Council
    AHRC Calls for Moral Consistency on Human Rights, Urges President Biden to Pause His Trip to Israel:
    May 24, 2022
  • The U.S.S. Liberty photo courtesy of the USS Liberty Veterans.
    Survivors of Israel’s strike on USS Liberty commemorate 55th year June 6 – 8
    May 23, 2022
  • AHRC Logo new Feb 2021
    AHRC hosts an open meeting with TSA & community
    May 19, 2022
  • Closure notice posted on the doors and windows of Arab American businesses during Mayor Lori Lightfoot's closure of Arab owned stores in June - Sept. 2021. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Chicago aldermen to host forum on Arab businesses closed by Mayor Lightfoot
    April 15, 2022

The Tabboun Column

The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
  • Tabboun
  • The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
    The Political Grapevine/The Tabboun, Friday Dec. 16, 2021
    December 16, 2021
  • The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
    Tabboun: Chicago remains strongest Palestine voice
    September 7, 2016
  • The Tabboun: Israeli human rights violations hit
    June 30, 2016
  • The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
    Tabboun: Himes questions troop deployment to Syria
    November 3, 2015
  • The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
    The Tabboun: Dearborn removes statue of racist former mayor
    September 29, 2015

Creative Commons License
All work on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

  • ZiyadBrandLogo-2016BlackRedBackgrnd.jpg
  • 08-09-21-Ziyad-Ad-Pantry-essentials.jpg
  • 08-09-21-Ziyad-Sices-Ad.jpg
  • HANANIA Arab News Op-Eds
  • Ukraine conflict gives Palestinians chance to redefine their conflict
    March 9, 2022
  • Mishmeshan PHC medical center destroyed in Syrian Government assaults. Photo courtesy of UOSSM Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations
    President Biden’s dyslexic policy in Syria is a mess
    October 20, 2021
  • Annissa Essaibi George and family
    Annissa Essaibi George faces “race hypocrisy” in campaign to be Boston Mayor
    October 20, 2021
  • Jerusalem image of Jews and Arabs walking together. Shutterstock. Courtesy of Arab News Newspaper
    Jewish Michigan lawmaker leads push for Two State Solution
    October 7, 2021
  • BOOK REVIEWS
  • Stories My Father Told Me by author and artist Helen Zughaib, book cover. Photo courtesy of Cune Press
    Stories My Father Told Me by author and artist Helen Zughaib
    November 1, 2021
  • Girl Fighters, new book on Yemen Book Cune Press
    New Book: Girl Fighters: Break Tradition in Yemen 
    October 25, 2021
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • The Ray Hanania Radio Show Live Wed 5 PM EST in Detroit, Washington DC, Ontario and on Thursday in Chicago. Watch the program live at Facebook.com/ArabNews
    Second Season of “The Ray Hanania Show” Arab American radio launches April 6
    April 4, 2022
  • American Arab CHamber President HassanNijem accepts the Proclamation from Chicago Ald. Roderick Sawyer at the Chamber dinner March 30, 2022
    Chicagoland celebrates Arab American Heritage Month
    March 31, 2022
  • Hollywood Sign
    Will Smith violence takes Oscar protests to dangerous level
    March 31, 2022
  • 03-30-22 Arab Chamber Heritage Month Flyer
    Arab Chamber to host Arab Heritage Month dinner March 30
    March 14, 2022
  • “Rupture”, the psychological thriller produced by MBC STUDIOS, has won Best Saudi Film at the 2021 Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF).
    MBC GROUP’s Rupture wins Best Saudi Film at the inaugural Red Sea International Film Festival
    December 15, 2021
  • New-iTunes-1400-x-1400-The-Ray-Hanania-Show-Podcast-Icon-300-x-300.jpg
  • Podcast-iTunes-Logo-Chi-City-Hall-1985.jpg
  • terroristbookcover-300-x-300.jpg
  • powerpr300x300ad.jpg
  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png
Arab News Newspaper Logo
Read the Arab News, the leading English language newspaper in the MIddle East

Follow Ray Hanania at Gab.com, MeWe.com and IDobbinate.com, the alternatives to Facebook and Twitter Censorship.

Click here to get information on The Ray Hanania Radio Show and its podcasts

Copyright © 2022 The Arab Daily News.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme