Notes on Youth, Transitional Justice and Art: Documenting War on the Streets of Sana’a, Yemen
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Article type and scope
An International Journal of Transitional Justice (2022) article titled Youth, Transitional Justice and Art: Documenting War on the Streets of Sana’a, Yemen by Waleed Alhariri and ThiYazen Al-Alawi. The piece is framed as a dialogue with Yemeni street artist ThiYazan Al-Alawi.
Focus: the role and impact of youth and art in war; art as a vehicle for documentation, memorialization, analysis, therapy, and dissent.
Method: edited conversation conducted in Arabic and translated by Alhariri; supplemented by selected photographs of murals.
Aim: explore how art in conflict zones addresses its audience, the mission behind each artwork, and how international collaborations convey Yemen’s situation to the outside world. The piece also offers advice on how the international community should support youth and how art can foster social dialogue and accountability.
The artist and their work
ThiYazan Al-Alawi began street art around 2011 as a response to Yemen’s political transition and used it to protest, cope with, and reflect on the ongoing conflict.
Early campaigns included Yemenis Common Demands (2014), a caricature campaign with five murals advocating for a civil state; Art and Life is referenced as part of his early oeuvre.
His practice blends documentation, memorialization, analysis, therapy, and dissent; he uses public walls to protest, document casualties, spotlight social issues, and critique violence.
Themes and purposes of art in conflict
Art communicates to audiences beyond local media constraints and moral obligations; it records incidents in ways that words may not, particularly where victims cannot articulate their trauma.
Art functions as a“duty” for the artist—an obligation to witness and to tell survivors’ and victims’ stories.
Public-facing art seeks to create space for memory, discussion, and potential peacebuilding; it also serves as a counter-narrative to war propaganda.
Context and significance
Yemen’s war is described as the longest and deadliest in the country’s history; civilians bear the brunt of bombardment, famine, displacement, and disease.
The article notes the disproportionate impact on youth, who are exploited by warring parties or mobilized to support affected communities; many educated youths leave, while those who stay face recruitment and social pressure.
Key background figures and events (brief timeline)
Civil war’s major phases: started around 2014, with intensified intervention in 2015; a period of ongoing conflict since then.
Campaigns addressing famine, child malnutrition (2016); war and peace (2016–2017); epidemics (2017); displaced persons (2017).
The article stresses the use of walls, destroyed homes, and facing streets as canvases for protest and documentation.
International connections and reception
Al-Alawi collaborates with artists abroad to communicate Yemen’s plight globally; such collaborations help translate local messages to international audiences.
Ethical, practical, and policy implications
The role of art in conflict raises questions about safety for artists, access to public spaces, and the potential for art to influence policy through visibility and advocacy.
The article argues for recognizing art as a legitimate tool in peacebuilding and transitional justice, not merely as cultural production.
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Visuals and campaigns (Figure references)
Figure 1: Al-Alawi’s mural on his backyard wall titled The Story of Peace and War, commemorating Yemen’s six-year war anniversary (collaborator: Rawya Al-Atwani, 27 March 2021).
Figure 2: First mural from the Shrinks campaign, denouncing the killing of innocent victims, located in a destroyed Attan village house (23 June 2018); campaign also depicted 21 murals of Yemeni singers.
War-time shift in artistic practice
When the civil war escalated (Sept 2014 onset; March 2015 intensification), Al-Alawi painted on walls of destroyed homes and on walls facing streets when possible.
Campaigns addressed multiple urgent issues: famine and child malnutrition (2016), epidemics (2017), and displaced persons (2017).
Artist’s focus and goals
The murals function as a form of witness and memory, aiming to record casualties, provide symbolic representations of trauma, and communicate messages to broad audiences beyond professional institutions.
Cultural and political context
Art is used to engage audiences beyond newspapers and television; murals provide a more immediate, visceral, and accessible form of storytelling about war.
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Visuals continued (Figure references)
Figure 3: The first mural from the Shrinks campaign (23 June 2018) denouncing the fall of innocent victims in the war, located in a destroyed Attan village house.
Figure 4: War in the World, a mural against the arms trade as part of the Street Caricature campaign on a war-damaged house (22 September 2016).
Campaigns overview
Shrinks (2018) focused on the vulnerability of civilians; Street Caricatures (2015–2016) contrasted arms trade with the daily dangers of war; other campaigns include depictions of famine, malnutrition, epidemics, and displaced populations.
Artist’s stance on representation
Al-Alawi emphasizes that his art uses metaphors and symbols rather than reproducing explicit facts; the goal is to deepen understanding of war through everyday experiences and memories of victims and survivors.
Ongoing themes in the artwork
The series depicts crossfire, shelling, and landmines; the artist documents internal violence as well as external aggression; war’s effects on civilians are central to the visual narrative.
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Current limitations and audience reach
As the conflict persisted with no clear end in sight, Al-Alawi moved from street walls to his backyard, continuing to share his art via social media.
Recurring framing of youth and agency
The art centers on youth, who are disproportionately affected by the conflict, and who can be both victims and agents of peacebuilding when given space to participate.
The nature of the artist’s “duty”
Art is presented as a duty to bear witness, document violations, and convey victims’ stories so they are not forgotten; it also seeks to mobilize audiences to reflect on violence and its impacts.
Public vs private spaces
The walls of public spaces served initially as primary canvases; now, in the face of safety concerns, private walls like Al-Alawi’s backyard provide a safer venue for continued expression.
Thematic scope of early collections
Collections include Suppression, God of War, Displacement, and Stories; portraits of war victims; depictions of violence; and explorations of ideologies, practices, values, and symbols of the war era.
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Interview excerpts: beginnings and motivation
“It goes back to 10 years ago.” Early work lacked technical skill; street art appeared as a simple medium with powerful political points.
Art as vocal expression for artists and voiceless ordinary people; it can drive societal transformation and sustainable peace.
During the political transition, there was relative freedom to draw on the streets; the streets felt like “mine.”
With the war, art reflects terror but also carries hope; the dynamic between a violent present and hopeful future creates a creative tension for a young artist in his 20s.
The purpose of art (continued)
The value of art is amplified when drawn in shelled areas, where media constraints may limit coverage; art can record events and articulate victims’ trauma when words fail.
Art uses metaphors and symbols rather than raw data; it emphasizes daily lived experiences to communicate reality.
Artistic output and thematic collections
Since late 2019, Al-Alawi has produced multiple collections on war-related topics, including themes like suppression, war’s violence, displacement, and targeted portraits of victims; the collection set aims to present a unified narrative of events in Yemen.
Aim of the artist’s documentation
The art seeks to help outsiders understand Yemen by presenting a localized, experiential language that transcends formal political discourse.
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Relationship between war and art
War gives art existential value as a non-violent confrontation with violence; murals narrate stories and convey fear, famine, disease, and casualties to international media and local audiences alike.
Public art aims to influence memory and stimulate dialogue; it offers a space for reflection, emotion, and potentially reconciliation.
The public square as a space for anti-violence narratives
The street becomes a venue for reclaiming counter-narratives, sharing survivors’ stories, and initiating recovery and peace dialogues.
The audience experience
Observers’ reactions—eyes filled with hope when they see someone painting for them—underscore art’s role in signaling agency and resilience.
Street art as a memory tool
Murals can prompt long-term memory retention and social support networks; they can also support victims in testimony processes if the public art contributes to evidence and accountability.
Documentation vs permanence
Some artworks are temporary (erasures, weathering); others can be preserved in memorials or museums to cement memory beyond the street.
Limits of street art in terms of policy impact
The author notes the need to bridge gaps between artists and policymakers for art to function as a formal peacebuilding and transitional-justice tool.
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War, memory, and the public sphere
Street art serves as a witness to the conflict; it not only preserves victims’ stories but also raises broader questions about the roles of international actors and domestic political actors in Yemen’s crisis.
The relationship between the public and policymakers
A recurring theme is the distance between artists and policymakers; art could become a formal input into policy if policymakers engage with it as a legitimate voice in peacemaking.
Public engagement and healing
The art invites communities to imagine new realities, support memory work, and participate in processes of transition and tolerance.
Cultural symbolism and identity
Cultural symbols become a shared infrastructure for peacebuilding; art fosters dialogue across groups with different opinions, enabling listening without immediate judgment.
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Audience reach and accessibility
Street art is more accessible than museum-based art (no admission, no specialized expertise required), making it a potent vehicle for public protest and documentation during conflict.
Temporal dynamics of street art
Murals may be refreshed or replaced over time; this temporality is part of using art to address current issues while allowing for memory of past events.
The role of women in Yemen’s art scene
Yemeni women have become a growing presence online, countering earlier gaps in visibility; their participation reflects resilience and shifts in social dynamics.
I nstitutional support and politicization of youth
Youth support is often politicized and uneven, highlighting the need for independent structures that support youth artists irrespective of factional loyalties.
The artist’s self-positioning
Al-Alawi frames himself not as a victim or a fighter, but as a creator who continuously seeks new avenues to circulate ideas and advocate for peace.
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Specific artworks and their meanings
Figure 9: Dance Without Limbs (from the Fragments campaign, 17 June 2019) depicts a mine-affected young girl; the piece uses a visual metaphor to convey the human cost of landmines.
The Fragment Campaign (2019) employed wheatpaste techniques on newspapers to address child mine injuries and the broader impact of landmines on children worldwide.
The piece highlights that in Yemen “children lose parts of their body” while playing or engaging with everyday life, illustrating war’s reach into childhood.
The broader aim of Fragment and related works
The campaign connects local experiences to global issues of mine proliferation and child casualties; it also demonstrates how different media (newspapers, wheatpaste) can be used to disseminate anti-violence messages.
How art can memorialize and document violations
Street art functions as a witness to violence and a catalyst for memory, while also communicating victims’ experiences in ways that can inspire sympathy and public support for victims.
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The role and reach of street art in documenting violations
Street art speaks directly to the public in ways that newsrooms or museums may not; it captures urgent social realities and makes these realities accessible to broad audiences.
Murals can be more impactful than traditional reporting because they are immediately visible and comprehensible, especially in conflict settings where media access is limited.
The case for long-term memorialization
Over time, street art can transition into a longer-lasting legacy through memorials and museums, ensuring that the atrocities are not forgotten and that they inform future generations.
The relationship between art, memory, and public emotion
Art evokes empathy and helps communities remember trauma collectively, which can support healing and accountability.
The visual narrative around the war as a proxy conflict
Figures 6–8 are described as illustrating how regional powers use Yemen as a chessboard, with Yemen depicted as a meal carved by various actors, underscoring the no-win dynamics of civil conflict.
The Doomsday piece and the Wrecks campaign
Figure 10: Doomsday (2015) from the Wrecks campaign, painted in the Al-Muhamasheen (the marginalized) workers’ neighborhoods bombed during the period.
These works dramatize how external powers and internal factions contribute to a perpetual cycle of destruction.
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Collaboration with other artists and cross-cultural exchange
Figure 12: Al-Alawi collaborated with Lebanese graffiti artists Spaz and Exist in Adlieh, Beirut; two doves symbolize peace and violence.
This collaboration reflects a blending of street art and graffiti aesthetics and demonstrates how cross-border partnerships diversify the artist’s methods and audiences.
International projects and campaigns
Figure 13 and Figure 14: Posters from the campaign Letters from Yemen, created with Lucwaring in London (October 2021).
These works extend the Yemen narrative into international contexts and engage diaspora audiences.
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Continued cross-border artistic collaboration
Figure 15: A sketch by Al-Alawi after his visa to the UK was denied (12 December 2019). The artist discusses how collaboration with UK artists enabled broader reach and translation of messages to different contexts.
The impact of international exposure on Yemen’s art scene
Collaborations helped adapt the messages for different audiences, expanding reach and impact beyond Yemen’s borders.
Practicalities and constraints of global mobility
Visa denials and logistical barriers can limit on-site participation but can be mitigated through international partnerships and remote or diaspora-based projects.
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Can art play a preventive role in conflict?
Al-Alawi argues that art reaches families and communities beyond the individual and elevates community issues to a national level; it can help bridge gaps between artists and policymakers.
For art to influence peace processes, policymakers must value artists’ voices as part of the peacebuilding toolkit, not just as cultural symbolism.
Structural critiques of peace processes
The article contends that conflicts often arise from elite mismanagement of political transitions and lack of public legitimacy for national agreements; art can help address feelings of exclusion and marginalization.
The role of cultural identity in peacebuilding
Cultural symbols in art provide an infrastructural foundation for life and peace, fostering collective identity and mutual understanding across divergent groups.
The ethical and practical implications of using art in transitional justice
Art must navigate safety, censorship, and political pressures while seeking to promote dialogue, memory, and accountability.
The broader takeaway
Art, culture, and memory are framed as neutral bases for mutual understanding rather than as mere peacekeeping tools; they are essential to healing, transition, and tolerance in post-conflict settings.
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Synthesis and final reflections
The author emphasizes that the most important role of street art is to provide a space for dialogue among diverse audiences, to surface demands from marginalized communities, and to sustain a narrative of resilience and hope amid ongoing conflict.
Art is presented as a universal language that can cross borders, translate local realities for international audiences, and contribute to accountability for violence.
Practical implications for peacebuilding
The article argues for formal recognition of art as part of transitional justice and peacebuilding frameworks; it advocates for greater collaboration between artists, communities, and policymakers.
Closing themes
Cultural identity, memory, and dialogue are positioned as the central pillars for peacebuilding; art offers a non-violent pathway to healing, reconciliation, and tolerance in Yemen and beyond.
Key takeaways
Youth in Yemen are not only victims but potential drivers of peace through creative expression.
Street art provides a powerful, accessible medium for documenting violence, memorializing victims, and catalyzing social dialogue.
International collaboration expands reach and informs global audiences, while also highlighting the need for policymakers to engage with artists in a meaningful, ongoing way.
Key terms to remember
Street art campaigns: Shrinks; Street Caricatures; Wrecks; Fragments; 12 Hours; Protest of the Walls; Letters from Yemen.
Campaign themes: famine and malnutrition; war and peace; epidemics; displaced persons; mine victims; arms trade; political and religious divisions.
Media and methods: wall murals; destroyed-home canvases; wheatpaste on newspapers; backyard canvases; social media dissemination; cross-border collaborations.
-year-old individuals in Yemen have already lived through armed conflicts, illustrating the intense exposure to violence across generations. The current conflict is described as Yemen’s longest and deadliest in its history. The article notes multiple years and events to situate the art within a concrete timeline: the civil war’s onset around with escalations around , campaigns from , and later collaborations in . The author also cites a statistic that more than 80 ext{%} of the population are living in hunger. These numerical references underscore the scale of suffering and the urgency for non-traditional peacebuilding approaches, including art-based memory and dialogue. For readers seeking broader context, the footnotes and references (e.g., the related Sana’a Center publication on mental health in Yemen) are provided as sources for further exploration.
Article type and scope- An International Journal of Transitional Justice (2022) article titled Youth, Transitional Justice and Art: Documenting War on the Streets of Sana’a, Yemen by Waleed Alhariri and ThiYazen Al-Alawi. The piece is framed as an in-depth dialogue with Yemeni street artist ThiYazan Al-Alawi, offering a unique firsthand perspective on art in conflict.
Focus: the multifaceted role and profound impact of youth and art in contexts of war, particularly highlighting art as a vital vehicle for documentation, memorialization, critical analysis, therapeutic expression, and powerful dissent.
Method: The core methodology involves an edited conversation, originally conducted in Arabic and meticulously translated by Alhariri. This is richly supplemented by a curated selection of photographs showcasing Al-Alawi's compelling murals, providing visual context to the discussion.
Aim: The overarching aim is to comprehensively explore how art created within conflict zones addresses its diverse audience, the underlying mission and profound intent behind each artwork, and crucially, how international collaborations serve to convey Yemen’s dire situation to the broader outside world, circumventing media limitations. Additionally, the piece offers actionable advice on how the international community can effectively support youth engagement and how art can proactively foster crucial social dialogue and greater accountability in post-conflict settings.
The artist and their work- ThiYazan Al-Alawi embarked on his street art journey around , initially as a direct artistic response to Yemen’s complex political transition. His art rapidly evolved into a powerful means to protest, therapeutically cope with, and deeply reflect on the unfolding and enduring conflict.
Early campaigns included the influential Yemenis Common Demands (2014), a striking caricature campaign featuring five prominent murals that vehemently advocated for the establishment of a civil state. The project Art and Life is also specifically referenced as a significant part of his formative early oeuvre.
His artistic practice masterfully blends documentation of events, memorialization of victims, critical analysis of the conflict, a form of personal and collective therapy, and outspoken dissent. He strategically utilizes public walls as his canvases to vocally protest injustices, meticulously document casualties, powerfully spotlight pressing social issues, and incisively critique the pervasive violence.
Themes and purposes of art in conflict- Art serves as a profound medium to communicate complex narratives and emotions to audiences, often transcending local media constraints and moral obligations that might otherwise silence certain stories. It uniquely records incidents and experiences in ways that mere words often cannot, proving especially vital where victims are too traumatized or oppressed to articulate their experiences.
Art functions as a Art functions as a "duty" for the artist—an obligation to witness and to tell survivors’ and victims’ stories. Public-facing art seeks to create space for memory, discussion, and potential peacebuilding; it also serves as a counter-narrative to war propaganda.
Article type and scope
An International Journal of Transitional Justice (2022) article titled Youth, Transitional Justice and Art: Documenting War on the Streets of Sana’a, Yemen by Waleed Alhariri and ThiYazen Al-Alawi. The piece is framed as an in-depth dialogue with Yemeni street artist ThiYazan Al-Alawi, offering a unique firsthand perspective on the profound role of art in conflict zones and its potential for peacebuilding.
Focus: The article meticulously explores the multifaceted role and profound impact of youth and art within contexts of war, particularly highlighting art as a vital vehicle for documentation of atrocities, memorialization of victims, critical analysis of social and political dynamics, therapeutic expression for individuals and communities, and powerful dissent against violence and injustice.
Method: The core methodology involves an edited conversation, originally conducted in Arabic and meticulously translated by Alhariri, ensuring authenticity and direct engagement with the artist's voice. This qualitative dialogue is richly supplemented by a curated selection of photographs showcasing Al-Alawi's compelling murals, providing essential visual context and directly illustrating the discussed themes.
Aim: The overarching aim is to comprehensively explore how art created within conflict zones effectively addresses its diverse audience—both local and international—the underlying mission and profound intent behind each artwork, and crucially, how international collaborations serve to convey Yemen’s dire and often underreported situation to the broader outside world, effectively circumventing traditional media limitations. Additionally, the piece offers actionable advice and recommendations on how the international community can effectively support youth engagement in peace processes and how art can proactively foster crucial social dialogue and greater accountability in post-conflict settings.
The artist and their work
ThiYazan Al-Alawi embarked on his street art journey around , initially emerging as a direct artistic response to Yemen’s complex and turbulent political transition. His art rapidly evolved into a powerful means to protest against escalating conflicts, therapeutically cope with the profound psychological and social impacts of war, and deeply reflect on the unfolding and enduring conflict's repercussions on daily life.
Early campaigns included the influential Yemenis Common Demands (2014), a striking caricature campaign featuring five prominent murals that vehemently advocated for the establishment of a civil state, emphasizing citizen rights and democratic aspirations. The project Art and Life is also specifically referenced as a significant part of his formative early oeuvre, demonstrating his early commitment to using art for social commentary.
His artistic practice masterfully blends documentation of real-time events, memorialization of victims and lost lives, critical analysis of the conflict's root causes and ongoing impacts, a profound form of personal and collective therapy, and outspoken dissent against all forms of violence and oppression. He strategically utilizes public walls—including those of destroyed homes and facing streets—as his primary canvases to vocally protest injustices, meticulously document casualties, powerfully spotlight pressing social issues like famine and displacement, and incisively critique the pervasive violence.
Themes and purposes of art in conflict
Art serves as a profound medium to communicate complex narratives and emotions to audiences, often transcending local media constraints and moral obligations that might otherwise silence certain stories or perspectives in traditional news reporting. It uniquely records incidents and experiences in ways that mere words often cannot, proving especially vital where victims are too traumatized or oppressed to articulate their profound experiences.
Art functions as a “duty” for the artist—an inherent obligation to bear witness to the conflict, document its immense human cost, and meticulously tell survivors’ and victims’ stories so that their experiences are not forgotten or dismissed.
Public-facing art, specifically street murals, seeks to create intentional space for collective memory, open discussion, and potential peacebuilding initiatives within communities. It also critically serves as a counter-narrative to prevalent war propaganda, offering alternative perspectives that humanize victims and critique the violence.
Context and significance
Yemen’s ongoing war is devastatingly described as the longest and deadliest in the country’s history, having commenced around with intensified intervention from . Civilians disproportionately bear the brunt of relentless bombardment, widespread famine, mass displacement, and devastating epidemics.
The article notes the severe and disproportionate impact on youth, who are often exploited directly by warring parties, being forcibly recruited or indirectly mobilized to support affected communities. While many educated youths feel compelled to leave the country in search of safety and opportunity, those who stay face immense pressure, including recruitment into armed groups and profound social pressures.
Key background figures and events (brief timeline)
Civil war’s major phases: The conflict escalated significantly around , with major international intervention intensifying in . This marked the beginning of a prolonged and ongoing period of internal conflict.
Campaigns addressing critical humanitarian issues driven by the war include extensive projects on famine and child malnutrition (e.g., in ); campaigns focusing on the broader themes of war and peace (e.g., between and ); public awareness initiatives on wide-ranging epidemics (e.g., in ); and art dedicated to displaced persons and their plight (e.g., also in ).
The article stresses the strategic and defiant use of public walls, the walls of destroyed homes, and directly facing streets as poignant canvases for protest and documentation, transforming ruins into messages of resistance and remembrance.
International connections and reception
Al-Alawi actively collaborates with artists abroad to effectively communicate Yemen’s immense plight globally. Such international collaborations are crucial in helping to translate specific local messages and experiences into relatable narratives for diverse international audiences, thereby raising global awareness and fostering empathy.
Ethical, practical, and policy implications
The visible and often provocative role of art in conflict settings raises critical questions about safety for artists, guaranteed access to public spaces for expression, and the significant potential for art to influence policy through heightened public visibility and sustained advocacy efforts.
The article strongly argues for recognizing art not merely as cultural production or aesthetic expression but as a legitimate and powerful tool in foundational peacebuilding and transitional justice frameworks, indispensable for fostering social change.
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Visuals and campaigns (Figure references)
Figure 1: Highlights Al-Alawi’s poignant mural on his backyard wall titled The Story of Peace and War, a collaborative piece with artist Rawya Al-Atwani (dated 27 March ), commemorating the sixth anniversary of Yemen’s devastating war, symbolizing both resilience and lingering conflict.
Figure 2: Showcases the first mural from the impactful Shrinks campaign, created on 23 June , denouncing the egregious killing of innocent victims. This mural is notably located within a destroyed Attan village house, using the very remnants of destruction as its canvas. The campaign also depicted 21 murals of Yemeni singers, adding a cultural layer to the protest.
War-time shift in artistic practice
When the civil war escalated dramatically (with its onset in September and major intensification in March ), Al-Alawi strategically adapted his artistic approach, moving from traditional public spaces to painting directly on the walls of destroyed homes and on walls facing streets whenever possible. This shift underscored his commitment to documenting the immediate realities of war.
His campaigns during this period directly addressed multiple urgent humanitarian issues, including: widespread famine and child malnutrition (notably in ), devastating epidemics (in ), and the immense suffering of displaced persons (also in ), reflecting the crisis's evolving priorities.
Artist’s focus and goals
The murals function profoundly as a form of visual witness and collective memory, explicitly aiming to record casualties, provide symbolic representations of deep-seated trauma, and powerfully communicate urgent messages to broad public audiences beyond the confines of professional institutions or mainstream media, making the art accessible to everyday citizens.
Cultural and political context
Art is skillfully used to engage audiences beyond traditional news formats like newspapers and television, which often face censorship or limited reach in conflict zones. Murals provide a more immediate, visceral, and widely accessible form of storytelling about the war, directly interacting with the public sphere.
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Visuals continued (Figure references)
Figure 3: This figure again presents the first mural from the Shrinks campaign (23 June ), powerfully denouncing the fall of innocent victims in the war, prominently located in a destroyed Attan village house, making the immediate impact of conflict tangible.
Figure 4: Depicts War in the World, a compelling mural created on 22 September . This artwork is a direct critique against the global arms trade, forming part of the Street Caricature campaign, and is strikingly painted on a war-damaged house, reinforcing its message of destruction.
Campaigns overview
The Shrinks campaign (launched in ) specifically focused on illustrating the profound vulnerability of civilians caught in the crossfire of war. Street Caricatures (active between –) shrewdly contrasted the lucrative global arms trade with the daily dangers and suffering endured by Yemeni civilians. Other significant campaigns by Al-Alawi include poignant depictions of famine, child malnutrition, devastating epidemics, and the vast scale of displaced populations, each highlighting specific humanitarian crises.
Artist’s stance on representation
Al-Alawi strongly emphasizes that his art deliberately uses metaphors and symbols rather than directly reproducing explicit facts or graphic details, allowing for broader interpretation and emotional resonance. The core goal is to deepen public and international understanding of war through the lens of everyday experiences and the profound, often unspoken, memories of victims and survivors, making the abstract horror of war relateable.
Ongoing themes in the artwork
The series consistently depicts harrowing scenes of crossfire, indiscriminate shelling, and the pervasive threat of landmines, which maim and kill civilians. The artist meticulously documents both internal violence, perpetrated by differing factions within Yemen, as well as external aggression from international interventions. The devastating effects of war on civilians remain central to his visual narrative, continually emphasizing their suffering.
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Current limitations and audience reach
As the conflict in Yemen persisted with no clear end in sight and safety concerns mounted, Al-Alawi gradually shifted his primary canvas from exposed street walls to the relative safety of his backyard. He continued to share his powerful art widely via social media platforms, leveraging digital reach when physical space became too dangerous.
Recurring framing of youth and agency
The art consistently centers on youth, who are disproportionately affected by the conflict, enduring its violence and disruptions to education and future prospects. However, the art also frames youth as not merely victims but as active agents of peacebuilding when they are given the necessary space, resources, and recognition to participate meaningfully in societal change and reconstruction.
The nature of the artist’s “duty”
Art is profoundly presented as a moral and artistic duty to bear witness to the ongoing conflict, meticulously document violations of human rights and international law, and convey victims’ stories so that they are not forgotten or silenced by the passage of time or political narratives. Furthermore, it aims to mobilize audiences, prompting them to reflect deeply on violence and its far-reaching impacts on individuals and communities.
Public vs private spaces
The walls of public spaces initially served as the primary and most accessible canvases for Al-Alawi’s street art, allowing for direct engagement with communities. However, in the face of escalating safety concerns and the increasing dangers of public expression, private walls, such as Al-Alawi’s own backyard, have provided a crucial and safer venue for continued artistic expression and dissent without undue risk.
Thematic scope of early collections
Early collections produced by Al-Alawi include poignant series such as Suppression, which explores themes of political oppression; God of War, reflecting on the pervasive nature of armed conflict; Displacement, addressing the mass forced migration; and Stories, which captures individual narratives. These collections also feature powerful portraits of war victims, graphic depictions of violence, and insightful explorations of the ideologies, practices, values, and cultural symbols prevalent during the war era.
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Interview excerpts: beginnings and motivation
“It goes back to years ago.” Al-Alawi recounts the origins of his journey, noting that his early work, though perhaps lacking sophisticated technical skill, found its voice in street art as a simple yet incredibly powerful medium to express complex political points and social critiques.
Art, for Al-Alawi, functions as a vital vocal expression for both artists themselves and for the voiceless ordinary people who suffer silently. He believes it possesses the transformative power to drive societal change and contribute to sustainable peace in the long term.
During Yemen's political transition period, there was a fleeting window of relative freedom to draw on the streets, making the public spaces feel like 'mine'—a canvas for open expression. However, with the onset of civil war, art took on a dual role: reflecting the terror and despair of the conflict while simultaneously carrying a resilient message of hope. This dynamic tension between a violent present and the aspiration for a hopeful future creates a profound creative tension for a young artist in his .
The purpose of art (continued)
The value and impact of art are profoundly amplified when murals are drawn directly in shelled areas, particularly where media constraints or censorship may severely limit comprehensive coverage. In such contexts, art can uniquely record events, visually articulate victims’ trauma when words fail, and provide a raw, unfiltered perspective on the conflict.
Art effectively uses metaphors and symbols rather than relying on raw data or explicit imagery; it deliberately emphasizes daily lived experiences to communicate the brutal, often unseen, reality of war in a deeply relatable and emotionally resonant manner.
Artistic output and thematic collections
Since late , Al-Alawi has consistently produced multiple impactful collections on a wide array of war-related topics, including themes like the pervasive suppression of freedoms, the sheer violence of war, the widespread displacement of populations, and targeted portraits of individual victims. The unified collection set aims to present a comprehensive and coherent narrative of events unfolding in Yemen, providing a continuous record of suffering and resilience.
Aim of the artist’s documentation
The art deliberately seeks to help outsiders understand the complex situation in Yemen by presenting a localized, experiential language that transcends formal political discourse or abstract statistics, making the human impact of the conflict accessible and understandable to a global audience.
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Relationship between war and art
War, paradoxically, gives art a profound existential value, transforming it into a non-violent yet potent confrontation with the very violence it depicts. Murals narrate untold stories and powerfully convey messages of fear, famine, disease, and the mounting casualties to both international media and local audiences alike, acting as a crucial bridge for understanding.
Public art specifically aims to influence collective memory and stimulate crucial public dialogue about the conflict. It offers a vital space for reflection, emotional processing, and potentially, the difficult but necessary path towards reconciliation within fractured communities.
The public square as a space for anti-violence narratives
The street inherently becomes a powerful venue for reclaiming counter-narratives against dominant war propaganda, sharing authentic survivors’ stories, and initiating essential recovery and peace dialogues directly within the affected communities, fostering a sense of collective healing and agency.
The audience experience
Observers’ reactions—often described as eyes filled with hope when they see someone painting for them—powerfully underscore art’s vital role in signaling agency and resilience within a population besieged by conflict, offering a visual testament to the human spirit's endurance.
Street art as a memory tool
Murals have the capacity to prompt long-term memory retention and foster the development of social support networks within communities, as shared visual experiences become anchors for collective remembrance. Potentially, they can also support victims in testimony processes if the public art contributes to accumulating evidence and advocating for accountability for atrocities committed.
Documentation vs permanence
Some artworks by their nature are temporary (subject to erasures, weathering, or destruction), while others can be strategically preserved in formal memorials or museums to cement memory beyond the ephemeral nature of street art, ensuring that the historical record is maintained for future generations.
Limits of street art in terms of policy impact
The author acutely notes the pressing need to bridge existing gaps between artists and policymakers for art to transcend its cultural role and fully function as a formal peacebuilding and transitional-justice tool, directly influencing policy decisions and implementation.
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War, memory, and the public sphere
Street art serves as a crucial visual witness to the ongoing conflict; it not only meticulously preserves victims’ stories and experiences but also raises broader and more critical questions about the complex roles of international actors and domestic political actors in perpetuating or alleviating Yemen’s enduring crisis, prompting a larger societal review.
The relationship between the public and policymakers
A recurring and poignant theme is the significant distance between grassroots artists and high-level policymakers. The article possets that art could become a far more formal and impactful input into peace processes if policymakers were to genuinely engage with it as a legitimate voice and a critical tool in peacemaking efforts, rather than just an aesthetic contribution.
Public engagement and healing
The art intrinsically invites communities to collectively imagine new realities beyond conflict, actively support memory work that acknowledges past trauma, and dynamically participate in processes of societal transition and foster tolerance among diverse groups, laying groundwork for future stability.
Cultural symbolism and identity
Cultural symbols, as expressed through art, become a shared infrastructure for peacebuilding, providing common ground and collective identity. Art fosters vital dialogue across groups with differing opinions or past grievances, enabling listening without immediate judgment and encouraging mutual understanding.
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Audience reach and accessibility
Street art is inherently more accessible than traditional museum-based art (requiring no admission fee, specialized expertise, or specific venue access), making it an immensely potent vehicle for widespread public protest and crucial documentation during conflict, reaching people directly in their daily lives.
Temporal dynamics of street art
Murals may be periodically refreshed or entirely replaced over time, reflecting evolving societal circumstances or new messages. This inherent temporality is an integral part of using art to address current issues while simultaneously allowing for the memory of past events and ongoing developments to persist in the public consciousness.
The role of women in Yemen’s art scene
Yemeni women have emerged as a growing and resilient presence online within the art scene, actively countering earlier gaps in visibility and representation. Their increasing participation reflects not only their personal resilience but also significant shifts in social dynamics and the expanding avenues for creative expression.
Institutional support and politicization of youth
Support for Yemeni youth, particularly artists, is often politicized and inconsistently distributed, highlighting a critical need for independent and neutral structures that support youth artists irrespective of factional loyalties or political affiliations, ensuring equitable opportunities and resources.
The artist’s self-positioning
Al-Alawi consciously frames himself not as merely a victim of the war or a combatant in its struggles, but rather as a dedicated creator who continuously seeks new avenues to circulate ideas, provoke thought, and advocate tirelessly for peace, embodying a non-violent form of resistance.
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Specific artworks and their meanings
Figure 9: Depicts Dance Without Limbs (from the Fragments campaign, dated 17 June ), a profoundly moving piece illustrating a mine-affected young girl. The artwork uses a powerful visual metaphor to convey the devastating human cost of landmines, particularly on the most vulnerable members of society.
The Fragment Campaign (initiated in ) specifically employed innovative wheatpaste techniques on newspapers to address the critical issue of child mine injuries and the broader, global impact of landmines on children worldwide, making the message easily reproducible and widely disseminable.
The piece vividly highlights that in Yemen, “children lose parts of their body” while innocently playing or simply engaging with everyday life, tragically illustrating war’s pervasive and destructive reach into the sanctity of childhood, even in seemingly safe spaces.
The broader aim of Fragment and related works
This campaign masterfully connects local experiences of suffering due to landmines in Yemen to global issues of mine proliferation and child casualties worldwide, raising international awareness. It also powerfully demonstrates how different media (such as widely accessible newspapers combined with wheatpaste) can be innovatively utilized to effectively disseminate urgent anti-violence messages to broad audiences.
How art can memorialize and document violations
Street art functions as an immediate and compelling witness to violence, serving as a powerful catalyst for collective memory regarding the atrocities committed. Simultaneously, it effectively communicates victims’ profound experiences in ways that can profoundly inspire sympathy and garner crucial public support for victims and their quests for justice or healing.
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The role and reach of street art in documenting violations
Street art speaks directly and viscerally to the public in ways that traditional newsrooms or conventional museums may not be able to achieve; it immediately captures urgent social realities and makes these realities accessible and comprehensible to broad audiences, circumventing literacy or access barriers.
Murals can be more impactful than traditional reporting because they are immediately visible and profoundly comprehensible, especially in conflict settings where mainstream media access is severely limited or compromised by censorship.
The case for long-term memorialization
Over time, street art, initially temporary, can successfully transition into a longer-lasting legacy through its preservation in formal memorials and museums. This ensures that the atrocities it depicts are not forgotten by future generations and that they actively inform historical understanding and civic education.
The relationship between art, memory, and public emotion
Art deeply evokes empathy and compassion, and crucially, helps communities remember shared trauma collectively, which is a fundamental step that can significantly support collective healing processes and facilitate pathways toward accountability for past injustices.
The visual narrative around the war as a proxy conflict
Figures 6–8 are explicitly described as illustrating how regional powers strategically use Yemen as a geopolitical chessboard, depicting Yemen as a meal being carved and consumed by various external actors. This visual metaphor profoundly underscores the no-win dynamics and immense suffering inherent in such proxy civil conflicts for the local population.
The Doomsday piece and the Wrecks campaign
Figure 10: Features Doomsday (created in ) from the powerful Wrecks campaign. This mural was specifically painted in the Al-Muhamasheen (the marginalized) workers’ neighborhoods, which were heavily bombed during that period. These works dramatically illustrate and critique how external powers and internal factions collectively contribute to a perpetual and devastating cycle of destruction in Yemen.
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Collaboration with other artists and cross-cultural exchange
Figure 12: Chronicles an impactful collaboration between Al-Alawi and Lebanese graffiti artists Spaz and Exist in Adlieh, Beirut, in which two doves are prominently featured, symbolizing both peace and violence, and representing a dialectic of hope and despair. This collaboration reflects a dynamic blending of street art and graffiti aesthetics, demonstrating how cross-border partnerships significantly diversify the artist’s methods and expand his audience reach beyond national borders.
International projects and campaigns
Figures 13 and Figure 14: Show powerful posters from the campaign Letters from Yemen, which Al-Alawi co-created with Lucwaring in London in October . These works exemplify how artistic collaborations can profoundly extend the narrative of Yemen’s conflict into international contexts and effectively engage crucial diaspora audiences, fostering global solidarity and understanding.
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Continued cross-border artistic collaboration
Figure 15: Presents a poignant sketch by Al-Alawi made after his visa to the UK was denied on 12 December , illustrating the personal and logistical challenges artists in conflict zones face. Despite this, the artist discusses how active collaboration with UK artists successfully enabled broader reach and crucial translation of his messages to different cultural and political contexts, overcoming physical barriers.
The impact of international exposure on Yemen’s art scene
These international collaborations have been instrumental in adapting Al-Alawi's messages for diverse audiences, significantly expanding his reach and amplifying the impact of his art far beyond Yemen’s borders. This exposure provides a vital platform for Yemeni artists and their nuanced perspectives.
Practicalities and constraints of global mobility
Visa denials and logistical barriers frequently limit direct, on-site participation of artists from conflict zones in international projects. However, these challenges can often be mitigated through strategic international partnerships and by developing remote or diaspora-based projects, ensuring continued artistic exchange and advocacy.
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Can art play a preventive role in conflict?
Al-Alawi passionately argues that art possesses the unique capacity to reach families and entire communities beyond the individual, and to elevate critical community issues to a national and even international level. He believes art can effectively bridge communication gaps between grassroots artists and high-level policymakers, fostering mutual understanding.
For art to truly influence peace processes, policymakers must fundamentally value artists’ voices as an integral part of the peacebuilding toolkit, recognizing their insights as legitimate and essential, rather than dismissing them as mere cultural symbolism or decorative elements.
Structural critiques of peace processes
The article contends that ongoing conflicts often arise from the elite mismanagement of political transitions and a profound lack of public legitimacy for national agreements, which frequently exclude marginalized voices. Art can directly help address prevalent feelings of exclusion and marginalization among the populace, giving voice to the dispossessed and fostering a more inclusive dialogue.
The role of cultural identity in peacebuilding
Cultural symbols in art inherently provide an infrastructural foundation for life and peace, fostering a strong sense of collective identity and promoting mutual understanding across groups with different opinions or historical grievances. This shared cultural language can transcend divisions.
The ethical and practical implications of using art in transitional justice
Art harnessed for transitional justice purposes must navigate formidable challenges including safety concerns for artists, potential censorship, and intense political pressures, all while striving to promote vital dialogue, ensure accurate memory work, and contribute meaningfully to accountability for human rights violations.
The broader takeaway
Art, culture, and collective memory are framed as neutral and fundamental bases for mutual understanding and reconciliation, rather than merely superficial peacekeeping tools. They are presented as absolutely essential to fostering genuine healing, facilitating societal transition, and cultivating tolerance in often deeply scarred post-conflict settings.
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Synthesis and final reflections
The author emphasizes that the most important and enduring role of street art is to provide an open space for dialogue among diverse audiences, to powerfully surface the demands and grievances from often marginalized communities, and to sustain a vital narrative of resilience and hope amid ongoing conflict and suffering.
Art is powerfully presented as a universal language that can effectively cross borders, translate complex local realities for international audiences, and contribute directly to advocating for accountability for violence and promoting human rights.
Practical implications for peacebuilding
The article passionately argues for the formal recognition of art as an integral and legitimate part of transitional justice and peacebuilding frameworks at official levels. It strongly advocates for greater and more meaningful collaboration between artists, affected communities, and international policymakers to integrate art into broader peace strategies.
Closing themes
Cultural identity, collective memory, and genuine dialogue are positioned as the central and indispensable pillars for effective and sustainable peacebuilding. Art offers a non-violent yet profoundly impactful pathway to achieving healing, fostering reconciliation, and cultivating tolerance within Yemen and in other conflict-affected regions globally.
Key takeaways
Youth in Yemen are not only disproportionately impacted victims of the conflict but also possess immense potential to be crucial drivers of peace through their creative expression and civic engagement.
Street art emerges as a powerful, accessible, and immediate medium for meticulously documenting violence, memorializing victims, and dynamically catalyzing essential social dialogue within communities.
International collaboration significantly expands the reach of these artistic messages and effectively informs global audiences about the realities on the ground, while also highlighting the pressing need for policymakers to engage with artists in a meaningful, ongoing, and supportive way.
Key terms to remember
Street art campaigns: Shrinks; Street Caricatures; Wrecks; Fragments; 12 Hours; Protest of the Walls; Letters from Yemen.
Campaign themes: famine and malnutrition; war and peace; epidemics; displaced persons; mine victims; arms trade; political and religious divisions.
Media and methods: wall murals; destroyed-home canvases; wheatpaste on newspapers; backyard canvases; social media dissemination; cross-border collaborations.
-year-old individuals in Yemen have already lived through armed conflicts, illustrating the intense exposure to violence across generations. The current conflict is described as Yemen’s longest and deadliest in its history. The article notes multiple years and events to situate the art within a concrete timeline: the civil war’s onset around with escalations around , campaigns from , and later collaborations in . The author also cites a statistic that more than of the population are living in hunger. These numerical references profoundly underscore the scale of suffering and the urgency for non-traditional peacebuilding approaches, including art-based memory and dialogue. For readers seeking broader context, the footnotes and references (e.g., the related Sana’a Center publication on mental health in Yemen) are provided as sources for further exploration.
To help you understand this topic and prepare for your class tomorrow, this reading focuses on an article from the International Journal of Transitional Justice (2022) about Yemeni street artist ThiYazan Al-Alawi. The core theme is how youth and art serve as powerful tools for documentation, memorialization, analysis, therapy, and dissent within the context of the ongoing war in Yemen, particularly in Sana’a.
Here are the key aspects you should grasp:
The Artist and His Motivation: ThiYazan Al-Alawi began his street art around to protest and cope with Yemen's political transition and subsequent civil war. His art is a blend of documentation, memorialization, critique, and even a form of therapy. He uses public walls, including those of destroyed homes, to record casualties, highlight social issues, and challenge violence.
Art as a "Duty" and Communication Tool: The article emphasizes that for Al-Alawi, art is a moral duty to bear witness to the conflict, especially for victims who cannot articulate their trauma. It serves as a vital medium to communicate complex narratives and emotions, transcending the limitations and censorship often found in traditional media in conflict zones. Art creates a space for memory, discussion, and acts as a counter-narrative to war propaganda directly in public spaces.
Context of the Yemeni Conflict: The art is deeply rooted in Yemen's devastating civil war, described as the country's longest and deadliest. The conflict, which intensified around , has led to immense civilian suffering, including bombardment, famine (affecting over of the population), mass displacement, and epidemics. Youth are disproportionately affected, often exploited or facing immense pressures, making their artistic expression particularly significant.
Campaigns and Themes: Al-Alawi's work covers crucial humanitarian themes. Key campaigns include:
Yemenis Common Demands (2014): Advocated for a civil state.
Shrinks (2018): Focused on civilian vulnerability and denouncing killings.
Street Caricatures (2015–2016): Critiqued the arms trade and daily dangers of war.
Other campaigns addressed famine, child malnutrition, epidemics, displaced persons, and the impact of landmines (like the Fragments campaign, 2019, with pieces like "Dance Without Limbs").
His art often uses metaphors and symbols to convey the emotional and lived experiences of war, rather than just explicit facts.
International Collaboration and Reach: Al-Alawi collaborates with artists abroad (e.g., in Beirut or London for "Letters from Yemen" campaign) to extend his message globally. These collaborations help translate local experiences for international audiences, raising global awareness despite challenges like visa denials.
Art's Role in Peacebuilding and Transitional Justice: The article strongly argues that art should be recognized as a legitimate tool for peacebuilding and transitional justice, not just cultural production. It bridges gaps between communities and policymakers, fosters collective memory, encourages dialogue, and supports healing and accountability. Street art's accessibility makes it a potent vehicle for public protest and documentation.
Challenges and Resilience: Artists face safety concerns and challenges in accessing public spaces, leading Al-Alawi to sometimes use private spaces like his backyard. Despite these, the art signifies agency and resilience, with Yemeni women, for instance, gaining more visibility in the online art scene. Al-Alawi sees himself not as a victim or fighter, but as a creator advocating for peace.
In summary, the reading highlights how art in conflict, particularly street art by Yemeni youth, serves as a powerful, immediate, and accessible means to document atrocities, memorialize victims, generate dialogue, and advocate for peace and accountability, bridging local experiences with global awareness.