“When a nation’s artists are in shackles, its people live in chains. When art is liberated, its people are set free.” In this article Omaid Sharifi, co-founder and president of ArtLords shares how art in Afghanistan has been repressed, eradicating every last vestige of creative expression since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. As artistic expression in Afghanistan is now criminalized and cultural centers are being closed, Afghan artists are experiencing many challenges to practice their craft and share their cultural heritage. Sharifi underscores that the Taliban sees art as a challenge and a dangerous threat,” and that “art is the power of protest and resistance. It is the memory of what we as Afghans once were and the imagination of what we can become again.”  In Kabul and other parts of the country, ArtLords painted over 2,200 murals, transforming walls into a common canvas to promote peace, gender equality, and human rights.

Read Omaid Sharifi’s article here.