ArtLords

ArtLords ArtLords is a global grassroots, art for social change movement. ArtLords was established in 2014. ArtLords has 53 employees and artists. www.artlords.co

It is a global grassroots movement of artivists motivated by the desire to pave the way for social transformation and behavioral change through employing the soft power of art and culture as a non-intrusive approach. ArtLords realized the opportunity for converting the negative psychological impact of blast walls on the people of Kabul into a positive visual experience. By placing issues of concer

ning ordinary citizens on the blast walls, ArtLords has been enabled to create a space where social issues can be expressed in a visual manner and discussed in the street, where the open art workshops take place. ArtLords provide a platform for dialogue among ordinary people on the streets of Kabul. It is giving a visual voice to the voiceless, which is the motivated dynamic behind the very existence of the movement. ArtLords is to promote the message of peace in Afghanistan through the expressivity of the arts and culture. It wished to portray a visual representation of the communities’ desire to move from war towards peace. Creating a relationship between people and art, by bringing art to the people, allows for a much-needed psychological shift that opens up people’s minds to new prospects. The use of art opens up space for ‘emotions without affiliation’. It stimulates critical thought and helps people understand that war is a commonly shared experience and that only a common effort, coming from within society, can bring about peace in Afghanistan, South Asia and Middle East. ArtLords will pursue an arts-based methodology that will be conceptually grounded, coordinated with other civil society stakeholders and representatives, infused with a long-term perspective vis-à-vis the nature of social change and will be responsible about evaluating its effectiveness and impact. ArtLords will thereby act as a platform that allows for the use of the arts for specific tasks that measurably contribute to consent building on any given subject and that contributes to the positive transformation of society. ArtLords is the pioneer and the first organization that started mural paintings in Afghanistan. The organization have 7 offices in Afghanistan and an office in Virginia, United States.

08/30/2026

The transformation is more than what you see on the wall. 🎨

Before: an ordinary space.
After: a collective expression of joy, belonging, and hope.

Created together. Painted together. Shared by everyone.

That’s what community looks like.


Art survives. Memory survives. Hope survives.At National Endowment for Democracy, ArtLords brought together the works of...
08/30/2026

Art survives. Memory survives. Hope survives.
At National Endowment for Democracy, ArtLords brought together the works of Afghan artists as an exhibition of resilience and creative resistance, proof that even when freedom is taken away, creativity finds a way to speak.
We are still here. We are still creating.

08/29/2026

With love and empathy from ArtLords

What a meaningful way to bring a community together: to truly see one another, share a laugh, listen with care, and trea...
08/27/2026

What a meaningful way to bring a community together: to truly see one another, share a laugh, listen with care, and treat every neighbor with respect and dignity.

Vermont has been that kind of place for our team: a place where we have felt welcome and can give something meaningful back. I am incredibly proud of our ArtLords team and partners for continuing to create spaces where neighbors of all ages can gather, paint side by side, and transform an ordinary wall into a shared expression of joy, belonging, and hope.

This, too, is the story of America: people from different backgrounds choosing connection over division, creating together, and reminding one another that we belong to the same community. It may not be the story we hear often enough, but it is the America we have witnessed, and the America worth building.



Manchester Community Library

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08/19/2026

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August is a difficult month for many of us from Afghanistan. Yet we cannot stop. We must continue.Speaking with and work...
08/18/2026

August is a difficult month for many of us from Afghanistan. Yet we cannot stop. We must continue.
Speaking with and working with my people in Kabul, and spending time with my team in Vermont and Toronto over the past few weeks, has brought healing, hope, and joy to my heart.
The creative resistance continues until this alien and invading force imposed upon our people is defeated and Afghanistan is free again.
Thank you to Radio-Canada for documenting our struggle and resistance.
Watch and share:

Il y a cinq ans, le 15 août 2021, les talibans reprenaient le contr...

Grateful to Rumi House for creating a space in the heart of Washington, D.C. where Afghanistan’s voices, culture, memory...
08/17/2026

Grateful to Rumi House for creating a space in the heart of Washington, D.C. where Afghanistan’s voices, culture, memory, and stories can continue to be heard.

Through thoughtful talks and cultural programming at American University, Rumi House is bringing people together around Afghanistan at a time when attention has faded but the need to remember has not.

We at ArtLords were especially pleased to have our exhibition hosted as part of this gathering, sharing artworks rescued from Afghanistan and works that represent the courage and creative resistance of Afghan artists, especially women.

Under Taliban oppression, art has become more than expression. It is testimony. It captures the emotional history of Afghanistan, protects our cultural and political memory, and refuses erasure.

Zahra Yagana is a one-woman army. Thank you for bringing the voices, messages, and lived realities of Afghanistan to tho...
08/16/2026

Zahra Yagana is a one-woman army. Thank you for bringing the voices, messages, and lived realities of Afghanistan to thousands of people in the heart of Washington, D.C., and for confronting the world with the cruelty of the Taliban.

I am deeply grateful that we were able to showcase some of the artworks rescued from Afghanistan. Afghan artists, especially women artists, continue to give us hope. Through their art, they are keeping our cultural and creative resistance alive.

Perhaps most importantly, their work captures the emotional history of Afghanistan. At a time when the Taliban are trying to erase voices, identities, stories, and memory, art becomes an archive. It keeps Afghanistan’s political and cultural memory alive and reminds the world that resistance continues.

5 years since the invasion of Kabul by the Taliban.
08/16/2026

5 years since the invasion of Kabul by the Taliban.

Music is banned, teenage girls cannot go to school and humanitarian aid is dwindling. On the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s takeover, we report from inside the country: bit.ly/4xDAzHA

Photo: MOA

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