Amman’s art scene is burgeoning, and Baladk Festival is making sure street art gets its rightful place in the newfound art-hub. Held every year, the six-day event brings together local and international artists to literally cover the city in colour.
After COVID-19 related postponement earlier this year, the festival has returned for its eighth edition, dubbed ‘Art is Environment and Environment is Art.’
Backed by Amman’s Al Balad Theatre, the initiative first began in 2013, when a group of friends and volunteers at the multi-purpose performing arts space came together to push forward everything from live art, murals, and grafitti.
“The Festival is an important gathering of the global artistic community in Amman – Jordan and Jordanian artists. It provides a platform for emerging and established artists to connect, learn and create,” reads their website.
For its past seven editions, Baladk has featured the work of both local and international artists, covering the old, beige walls of Amman with colossal, ultra-vibrant murals and graffiti.
The festival has previously featured the work of Nike-collaborator Dina Saadi, whose vibrant work that depicts the beauty in everyday life and natural elements has been seen on walls across the globe, from New York City to Peru. Jordanian Graffiti artist Suhaib Attar, too. Attar will also be returning to take part in this year’s edition, alongside a slew of local artists.
Murals around the city will be painted by the likes of Chaf, who is known to merge his delicate calligraphy with bold and graphic graffiti and Yazan Mesmar, who perfectly touched this theme.
This year, the festival’s organizers announced that they will also be holding a two-day event comprised of presentations, featured talks and workshops surrounding the themes of street art culture and the environment. And as a champion of Jordan’s creative community and environmental issues, her Majesty Queen Rania has been a big supporter of this year’s edition. The queen took to her Instagram to share her adventure touring murals across the city last week.
