Through connections of history, culture, geography, and language, Tunis is a part of many different worlds: the Mediterranean, the Maghreb, the Arabic-speaking world, the Amazigh world, the African continent, and other formerly colonised Francophone countries. The indigenous Amazigh, the ancient Phoenician city of Carthage, successive Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Ottoman, and European empires, and Tunis’ position at a crossroads of cultures have left their mark on the city through diverse architectural styles, rich cultural traditions, and a nuanced international outlook.

The Arab Spring—which saw a wave of civil uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East, with people protesting for freedom, democracy, and justice—was sparked by the Jasmine Revolution of 2010-11, which took place in Tunis. The movements changed the region in many ways, particularly culturally, with more open artistic expression and a blossoming of grassroots organisations and creative projects (although in some instances only for a short time). Many of these projects in Tunisia have now matured into some of the most important arts spaces in the country.

Here, Karim Sultan, a curator at Tunis’ Kamel Lazaar Foundation and B7L9  an art centre in a rural suburb of Tunis that hosts exhibitions, a music programme, community initiatives, talks, and learning programmes—shares some highlights of the city’s art scene and what makes it unique, as well as some of the challenges that creatives continue to overcome.

There is a diverse mix of cultural spaces in Tunis, from private and independent foundations to state-run institutions. Kamel Lazaar Foundation (KLF), founded in 2005, is one such independent initiative, and our B7L9 Art Centre holds an annual programme of four to six exhibitions a year, a dynamic music programme, learning and community initiatives, and the biennial Jaou festival.

State-level institutions include the Municipal Theatre, Bardo Museum, and Centre for Mediterranean and Arab Music (CMAM). The latter, housed in Ennejma Ezzahra Palace, built in the early 20th century, is centred around music and houses the National Sound Archives. International institutions such as the French Institute (IFT) and Goethe-Institut form part of this fabric as well. Citizen-led movements and initiatives are of great importance in Tunis, particularly after the Tunisian Revolution, with the formation of collectives, informal spaces for gathering, and exhibition spaces. Many who were not actively involved in the arts at this time became artists through the revolution, after going out into the streets, taking photographs and responding creatively to what they were witnessing.

The civil society in Tunis is socially, politically and culturally engaged, which is a very special thing. Centres such as 32bis and Central Tunis, both located in the city’s vibrant downtown, and Mouhit, allow for numerous voices to emerge and evolve. Espace Massart, for example, is an independent theatre and music space deeply connected with the neighbourhood around it. This is another thing that is special about Tunis: in many places around the world, theatre can be considered very elite, whereas in Tunis, it is widely popular. So oftentimes, rather than putting on an exhibition to explore certain issues, you might see a theatre performance. A great example of this is the theatrical production Flagranti by the playwright and theatre director Essia Jaïbi with the organisation Mawjoudin We Exist, which highlights the marginalisation of LGBTQI+ communities in Tunis.

More than in most places, the arts really overlap in Tunisia. The lines between visual art, theatre, cinema and music are often blurred. In a very practical sense, many people here—who do what elsewhere might be called exhibition design—are scenographers working in theatre or architects. You might have somebody who designs theatre sets, who works in cinema, but then will also work with visual artists to design exhibitions. All these sub-sectors are inherently and organically interconnected. Here, if you study one specific part of the arts at university, it is still easy to work in another sub-sector and transfer those skills.

This interconnectedness can be seen in artistic practices as well. While painting has a very long history and tradition in Tunis, especially towards the end of the colonial period and the École de Tunis art movement, for younger generations today, painting is less dominant. Photography has been extremely important, particularly since the revolution. As technology progresses and becomes more accessible, photography is becoming much stronger all over the world. But artists who are under 30, for example, seem to do an amalgamation of things: some artists focus on video and installations but also produce electronic music and short films. Younger artists here are more interested in new mediums. They want to cut the limitations of single practices and live in the spaces in between them.

You can’t really talk about Tunis’ art scene without talking about the festivals. KLF’s own Jaou festival began in 2013 and has evolved into a city-wide biennial format program, with large-scale public and site-specific exhibitions, a music programme with international and local acts, theatre and performance, and a symposium that has brought together forward-thinking minds from around the world.

Cinema, theatre and music have long-standing histories and associated festivals that see international, regional and Tunisian artists share the stage and the screen, such as JCC (Carthage Cinema Days) and JTC (Carthage Theatre Days), which are important spaces for premiering work. Contemporary art festivals such as Dream City, which centres primarily around the Medina of Tunis, are important in the Tunisian art landscape. Others, such as Gabes Cinema Fen, expand the realm of film to include the visual arts through installations and video art, and a focus on a city affected ecologically by industry.

There is a very independent spirit in Tunis. It can be difficult to get readily accessible art materials, tools, technology and books. It can cost many times what it would somewhere else, or sometimes it is just completely impossible to find. Due to this, there is a flourishing independent spirit: people will build things, find things, construct things and really push the limits of what you can do. This can create an anarchic aesthetic which is fascinating, but it also comes out of necessity. It is about working creatively around the limits—and there are many. This often defines how we work at B7L9.

With Karim Sultan (Curator) and Ryma Gtari (Communication Manager) as told to Aimee Dawson, art writer and editor