Paper short abstract:

Artists are not necessarily paid to create work, especially when what they produce is graffiti. What prompts them to create, and how does the urban environment affect such productions? This paper explores why and how the female artist Shamsia Hassani from Afghanistan produces graffiti in Kabul.

Paper long abstract:

Many artists, including professional artists are not necessarily paid to engage in artistic or creative production, especially when what they produce is graffiti. What prompts them to create, and how does the urban environment affect such productions? Known as the first female graffiti artist from Afghanistan, Shamsia Hassani has created graffiti and murals on the walls in Kabul and beyond. Originally trained in traditional arts, Hassani took up graffiti after attending a workshop with a British graffiti artist in Kabul in 2010. Since then, graffiti has been a powerful tool for her to seek changes in society despite the stigma often attached to graffiti in other parts of the world. Many of her graffiti, portraying women in burqa, sometimes with calligraphic writings, have been produced on the damaged walls in Kabul. These works attempt not only to colour over the sad memories of her bombarded city, but also to change the common perception of her country, which has been characterized by its recent wars. Any passerby on the streets of Kabul will encounter her work, and so her work requires collaboration with her urban environment and its residents. The urban spaces of Kabul―streets, walls, and buildings etc.― are integral to the production of her graffiti and these spaces also need her work. This paper explores why and how the artist Shamsia Hassani produces graffiti in Kabul. It considers the significance of such informal creative production in a city like Kabul, and asks how such works affect our environments.