STREET ART AS POLITICAL PROTEST: POST-ELECTION WALL MURALS IN KARACHI (2018–2022)

Abstract

Street art has always been a form of political speech, typically in places where traditional means of protesting are too constrained. Following the 2018 general elections, wall murals in Pakistan, and Karachi in particular, became a new medium of critique and expression. This article examines the post-election murals between 2018 and 2022 as political resistance, citizen engagement and urban discourse. Through a qualitative case-study, this study draws on fieldwork, photo documentation and semi-structured interviews with artists, activists and residents. For analysis, thematic coding was used to assess the presence of iterated motifs, plotlines and symbolic ploys. The murals countered campaign promises and focused European attention on corruption, inequality and governance while expressing citizens’ deepening frustration over political uncertainty. Mural art also reinstated urban public space, turning forgotten walls into arenas for democratic discourse. The study argues that Karachi’s Street art challenges hegemonic political narratives and expresses other forms of citizenship and governance. These are productive provocations that have ramifications for larger discussions about art, politics, and urban studies, focusing attention on one way in which visual culture can be wielded as a focus of grassroots political protest.

Keywords: street art, political protest, Karachi, wall murals, elections, resistance, visual culture