During the summer of 2014, a sleepy little village in the island of Djerba in Tunisia was invaded by unlikely visitors. Coming from 30 different countries, a hundred and fifty street artists paid went to Er-Riadh. These artists descended into the obscure town to participate in Djerbahood.
Er-Riadh is a peaceful town is home to Muslims, Christians and Jews for more than 2,000 years. Mehdi Ben Cheikh, the founder of French Galerie Itenerrance and organizer of Djerbahood, made sure that both the government a private owners legally approved the event.
150 artists visited Er-Riadh in batches for two months for the massive public street art exhibition. The walls, doors, windows, gates and even abandoned buildings became the canvas of the artists. The artists hope to infuse new life to one of Tunisia’s oldest villages.
Some artists were given free hands to paint what they wanted while others asked inputs from homeowners or from the locals for their murals.
Here are some of our favorite works in the Djerbahood.
