A revolution in pictures: The art that fed Sudan's protest movement

Sudanese artist Galal Yousif. Photo: Gioia Forstere/dpa

Artists played an important role in Sudan's months-long protest movement in 2019, creating graffiti that both depicted the protests and influenced public sentiment. Even as tensions have eased with the signing of a government deal, they are determined to keep painting.

Khartoum (dpa) - They painted on brick walls and house facades, under bridges and on the street - the settings of the revolution. Faces with mouths covered in red paint; slogans calling for freedom.

Khartoum's graffiti artists played an important part in the lengthy protest movement that finally culminated in an agreement between the military and the opposition in Sudan in August. Their work was a constant backdrop to the mass protests, including a weeks-long sit-in in Khartoum.

The artists documented and fuelled the protests, creating images that were seen around the globe.

"Revolution is about images," says artist Galal Yousif. "Without images, there is no revolution."

The demonstrations began in December to protest against the 30-year long presidency of Omar al-Bashir, who had ruled the north-east African nation with an iron grip. Bashir reined in the opposition and civil society, and imprisoned, tortured and killed dissenters.

The military deposed him in April under the pressure of the mass protests. But the Sudanese continued taking the streets to demand a civil government - even after security forces killed more than 100 people to break up a sit-in demonstration in Khartoum in June.

Alaa Satir created her first mural one day before al-Bashir's dethronement. It was her first piece of public art, and she chose a strip of wall near the central square where the sit-in was happening.

In her signature cartoonish style, Satir drew a woman, white on a blue background, with a raised hand. The work is based on a photo of protester Alaa Salah standing on a car roof, shouting protest slogans, that went viral around the world. Next to the mural, Satir wrote: "Women, stay determined, this is the revolution of women." 

"We artists had a lot to say," Satir remembers. Her art, which she shares on social media, already dealt with political and social issues before the protests. "Revolutionary art should be on the street," she says. "My art does not belong to me or my followers on Instagram, but to the people."

During the rule of al-Bashir, art was a form of resistance. It was almost impossible to create art in public spaces - "especially if it was in any way critical of the government," Satir says. The demonstrations have allowed artists to finally express their opinions. 

"I prefer painting to protesting. That's what I can offer," says Galal Yousif.

The 33-year-old painted several murals in the area of the sit-in. Most show gaunt figures, often wearing traditional Sudanese garments with red lines crossing their mouths to symbolise censorship and oppression.

One of his largest works is under a bridge and resembles Edvard Munch's "The Scream" - elongated faces with gaping mouths, hands covering their ears. He believes that artists are a mirror of society. "Art is the voice of the people."

When the security forces violently cracked down on the sit-in in the early morning hours of June 3, they also covered up the murals. In just a few days, all the walls in the streets where the blockade took place became white, only a few flashes of colourful paint shining through.

"They knew art can encourage people to rebel," says Satir. "They wanted to pretend the sit-in never happened, as if there was no revolution."

The military and the civil opposition have finally agreed on a transitional government to rule until elections take place in three years. Does this mean the artists are putting their paint brushes to rest?

Not in the slightest, say Satir and Yousif. Many demands have not been met, justice for the victims has not been served. The government still seems intent on silencing dissenting voices, they say.

Opposition groups have criticized the military leadership for continuing to paint over murals in Khartoum. There is still much to fight for, especially as a woman, says Satir. "We're not just resisting a political system but a societal order that has always been against us women."

"Who knows," Yousif adds. "Maybe there will be a second revolution."

Published by the German Press Agency.