Based in the Tiébélé village of Burkina Faso in West Africa, the Kassena community is famous for their painted houses tradition. By decorating their houses with culturally-rich symbols, stories, a sense of protection and generations of heritage are kept alive and passed on. And since Tiébélé was recently named one of Burkina Faso’s four UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Kassena hope to use this distinction to raise public cultural awareness, strengthen preservation efforts, and benefit their community through projects and economic activities centered around their heritage. We recently chatted with featured artist Alexandre Keto @alexandreketo , who is beginning collaborative work with Kassena locals to revitalize their tradition of painting houses. Keto’s work is a fantastic example of community co-creation. Public art can be used to bring public attention to so many issues and with Tiébélé’s ancestral cultural heritage at risk for many reasons, the collaboration between Keto and the Kassena community hopes to reinvigorate this practice for future generations. Full story: https://www.paintthechange.me/articleskaseenacommunity #BurkinoFaso #Africa #AfricaArt #Kassena #Tiebele #streetarteverywere #muralart #streetart #streetarttoday #muralism #africaartist #africaamazing #africaadventure #westafrica #westafricanartist (fb)

📚✊ Nasim was a student in the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education – the “underground university” that Baha’is created in Iran, because they’re banned from higher education – when, in 2009, #Iran erupted into days of protests over the rigged reelection of then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Nasim was out taking photos when she was arrested and briefly detained by the authorities. She was held for a few days and government agents tried to force her to falsely confess that she and other Baha’is were responsible for the protests – she refused. Nasim was released but she decided to leave Iran. Today she is completing her art studies at UC San Diego. Australian artist @r_o_n_e painted this portrait of her on the side of the Storefront Academy at Park Avenue and 129th Street in Harlem. #art #mural #muralist #bahai #baháí #bahaifaith #bahaitemple #bahaiartist #iranart #education #educationisnotacrime #undergrounduniversity #harlem #newyorkcity #newyorkcityart #harlemart #streetart #streetartist #streetartaddicted #streetarteverywere (fb)