Science for Peace in 2014, the Art for Peace Award at Murad Subay, graffiti artist Yemeni (PHOTOS)
When in June 2013 the Dutch freelance journalist Judith Spiegel and his companion were kidnapped, Murad Subay entrusted to the walls the message of indignation of the vast majority of Yemenis: a depiction of the two European smiling and the words “We are sorry, Judith.”
When December 5, 2013, the day of the death of Nelson Mandela, a terrorist attack left 56 dead on the ground in a hospital in the capital, Murad Subay decided that the minute of silence decided by the government was not enough. He picked up the names and all the photos that could. A few months later, with a group of young artists Yemenis, drew on the walls of the hospital hit the faces and names of the victims, almost all medical and health personnel.
That’s who is the artist who Science for Peace has decided to award this year with the Art for Peace Award, an important recognition given to artists who have distinguished themselves for their commitment to peace. Subay Murad was born in 1987 , so young and yet is the father of the art of graffiti in Yemen. Began to talk the walls in March 2012 through the campaign ” Colour your’s Wall Street , “at which he encouraged the Yemeni citizens, especially the young, to color the walls damaged by the civil war broke out in Yemen in 2011.
In 2012 he launched the campaign Walls Remember , during which the walls of the streets of the capital Subay and his group of artists drew portraits of 102 people missing in previous years, nearly all for political reasons. The initiative, told the same Subay, led to the identification of one of desparecidos Yemenis. “We had a political purpose, so we suffered repeated vandalism and attempts to deface the faces. Our tools are simple but effective, which is why we were targeted. ”
This year Subay launched its third campaign entitled ” 12 Hours “, to illustrate the twelve major policy challenges facing the horizon Yemeni through graffiti art. The reasons for the assignment of the Art for Peace Award are all here: Murad has managed to create an artistic movement and not a pacifist anti-political, indeed, that aims to raise awareness towards politics. It involved a high number of people from civil society in a country plagued by war for more than 50 years.
“Street art is not only my voice, but recently it has also become one of many Yemenis, as it addresses the main problems affecting the country’s inhabitants.All Yemenis want peace and a life of dignity. I saw many people paint their dreams on the walls in the hope that one day become reality. This award has enormous significance for me and for the people who took part in the project and represent the soul of my campaigns art as it is a recognition of our humble work and commitment. In addition, the prize is a strong signal of encouragement for my team of artists and for myself. In essence, it is an acknowledgment, all Yemenis. “
Murad Subay 