Erriadh on Djerba: Every House is a Work of Art

Once upon a time, Erriadh was just a pretty little village on the Tunisian island of Djerba: white houses, traditional architecture, and people whose families have lived there for generations and made their handicrafts in the workshops next door. However, contemporary art has been integrated into the island’s original charm since 2014. The project “Djerbahood” organised by the Galerie Itinerrance de Paris, a kind of XXL street art festival, transformed Erriadh into a mecca for graffiti lovers and into one big open-air art gallery. All this was done without robbing the place, said to have been founded by Jewish refugees as early as the 6th century B.C., of its history or authenticity.

Djerbahoof (French)

But what exactly can you experience there? Well, there’s a giant octopus by the Belgian artist ROA, who used a domed building to create a multi-dimensional depiction of the animal’s head. The Tunisian star artist El Seed also accepted the invitation to Erriadh, having already worked as a street artist in Qatar’s capital Doha and created designs for Louis Vuitton. Not only buildings were adorned by the artists’ work – a wrecked car was also transformed into a tiger by Polish artist M-CITY. The project has continued to evolve since 2014. If the paint flakes off, for example due to the salty sea air, the works are repainted or redesigned.