Djerbahood: 150 Street Artists Transform Mediterranean Island into a Dream-Like Museum

They say this legendary island cast a spell on Odysseus on his way back to Troy. They say its golden coast, kissed by the Mediterranean Sea, still keeps all visitors spellbound. And they will say, soon, that no island hosts a more dazzling open-air museum than Djerba.

This month, the villagers of Erriadh, one of the oldest communities in the island, woke up to colorful paintings transforming the walls of their sun-drenched town. “It feels like it’s only a few miles away from the sun; ad so we work throughout the night”, says Iraqi artist Myne, one of the 150 international street artists that flew over to the island to leave their mark.

The project, called Djerbahood, was initiated by Tunisian-French artist Mehdi Ben Cheikh and his Gallerie Itinerance. From South Africa to Argentina, from Japan to Iraq, street artists from 30 different countries are turning the island into Tunisia’s largest open-ski exhibition.  

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK650n8yDQE]

 

For more information: See the work in progress at Djerbahood’s Facebook Page, Instagram, and for a project overview, check out their website.