« I am the martyr » : Analysing Egyptian martyrdom through street art and graffiti (2012-2014)

Following the Egyptian uprisings of 2011, one witnessed a progressive yet steady destruction and closing down of spaces and channels of protest. Activists and social actors having witnessed the shutting down of their spaces and tools of protest, were forced underground. This progressive return of authoritarian rule, however, compelled many of these social actors to produce, document, and disseminate as much information as possible on the uprisings for future generations. Among these social actors were the Ultras, the organised groups of football supporters, made use of these techniques to commemorate certain events, most notably the events of Port Said1 who saw many of their members die.

The main objective of this paper will be to investigate and analyse the Ultras’_memorialisation and identification processes through their use of graffiti and street art, as well as examine the crystallisation of their heritage and memory around the concept of martyrdom. By focusing on the Ultras’ mobilisation after the events of Port Said, we aim to shed light on the various dynamics, namely observe the impact of a singular event on the development of a politically driven grievance capable of mobilising a great number of people, as well as the way the Ultras, as a group, made use of public space in their processes of memorialisation and their pursuit of justice and retribution.

Ultimately, the objective of this paper is to focus on tools that are specific to the Ultras’ mobilisation mechanisms – namely the graffiti and street art – and establish them as tools of memory as a response to the authoritarian nature of the Egyptian regime. Through ananalysis of graffiti and street art, we aim to demonstrate the centrality of these alternative spaces of protest and the role they played in maintaining a general sense of awareness regarding the events, thus contributing to the construction of a post-revolutionary memorialisation process.

Panel 2: Au-delà des mémoires institutionnalisées:émotions, acteurs et changements incertains au quotidien.

Discutant : Marlene Schäfers (Ghent University, Ghent)