A few weeks ago Shoreditch Street Art Tours received one of its more unusual assignments when our friend Cedar Lewisohn asked us to guide four street graffiti writers/street artists from Jordan and Bahrain around Shoreditch’s street art. Wesam Shadid and Mohammed Al Abbar from Jordan and Mahmoud Al Shargawie and Mike Derderian from Bahrain were visiting the UK on a street art study tour funded by the British Council.
Their action packed week took them around London and Bristol and saw them painting in the legendary Leake Street Hall of fame, check out their experience on this short film produced by the British Council.
Chatting with these characters was certainly eye opening, the conditions they paint under in their home countries and the expense of getting paint supplies mean creating art on the walls of their homeland requires heightened passion and self sacrifice, not to mention expense.
Cycling home the next day via Leake Street tunnel I came across the guys again and Wesam did me the honour of putting up my name in Arabic on the legendary Leake Street walls. Thanks Wesam, for me this was a real honour and a privilege.