ASHEKMAN

Considered among the early adopters of Arabic calligraphy in street art, ASHEKMAN is an Arabic street art group that started in 2001 in Beirut Lebanon by identical twin brothers Omar and Mohamed Kabbani. Born in the midst of the Lebanese civil war in the early 80's, the twins witnessed several wars in 3 decades that made them organically start a platform; which they called ASHEKMAN. Their mother’s background as a painter and their father’s admiration of literature, namely Khalil Gebran, were driving factors for the brothers to pursue in the arts to the point that they both graduated with a degree in Graphic Design..

The duo’s name originates from the French term, échappement which in colloquial Lebanese becomes “Al-Shakman” or Ashekman. It literally translates to exhaust pipe. The brothers claim that this word is 100% Lebanese and comes from the heart of their country’s culture. The name is not void of symbolism for, just like exhaust pipes expel toxic gases from inside the car, the brothers aim at expelling toxic social gases that suffocate their surroundings.

Both Kabbanis started rapping and making graffiti art as soon as they turned 18. ASHEKMAN was based on a complete personal initiative as the brothers produced their own shows and were able to turn their passion into a business and creating a clothing line available across the MENA region. Having learned calligraphy from Master calligrapher Ali Assi, ASHEKMAN paved their path merging two seemingly opposite worlds: graffiti and Arabic calligraphy. Marrying these two disciplines earned them a unique spot and helped stand out with their hybrid form of street art.

ASHEKMAN soon became an outlet the for the twins to fight social, political and religious extremism that fuels the false propaganda about the Middle East. In fact, ASHEKMAN's mission is to revive the Arabic culture in an urban context, to bring back the golden Arab age where poetry, science, and knowledge were exported and translated to all cultures and, finally, to spread a positive message of tolerance. That would explain their prevalent use of the Arabic language which is in itself a political statement.

The boy’s social commentary doesn’t stop here. As their childhood in the bunkers saw only one silver lining, watching Japanese anime hero, Grendizer, change the world. Grendizer is often used in their work and they never shy from expressing their conviction the anime hero must be the country’s president; one can even say it’s their mascot. In fact, one of their most popular pieces bears the line “A people who have Grendizer shall never perish.”

To date, the twins tagged over 100 walls in Beirut, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Doha, Geneva, Birmingham, and Yerevan. Their positive messages and creative approach put them on the map where they were interviewed on global media outlets. The twins also continue giving workshops in top design universities in Beirut, United Arab Emirates and Armenia.

One of the most recent and more prominent street art initiatives by ASHEKMAN would be Opration Salam. They painted a gigantic word “Salam” in Arabic calligraphy on 85 building rooftops. The word can only be seen from space. In fact, the initiative couldn’t be any more specific as the word “Salam” translates to peace in English. The project took place in the North of Lebanon, precisely in the infamous Syria street, an area that witnessed a ferocious civil war that ended a couple of years ago. We worked with an NGO (March) and 80 people from both fighting parties, some of which were ex-militiamen. It took us 3 years to prepare for this project with numerous logistical obstacles but we ended up self-financing and executing it in 3 weeks

One of their very first exhibitions was in collaboration with MB&F M.A.D. Gallery where the artists got inspired by the “golden age” of Arab civilization and decided to bring it back with an exhibition entitled “Arab Golden Age V.2.0”. Each piece displayed has been crafted with a metal body and paired with Arabic calligraphy to highlight Arabic culture within a modern context. This exhibition marked the beginning of the crew's endeavor into yet another art form: mechanical art.

ASHEKMAN have taken the slogan "The Street Is Ours" and use it across their social media pages.

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