Graffiti, Grief, and Rebellion: The Politics of Street Art in Nigeria’s #EndSARS Protests

References

ACLED. 2021. Lessons from the #EndSARS Movement in Nigeria. ReliefWeb. February 10, 2021. Originally published February 9, 2021 https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/lessons-endsars-movement-nigeria.Search in Google Scholar

Adiwu, Talatu Onkala. 2022. “Art Forms in Crisis: the Role of Songs and Visual Artworks Created in Response to the #EndSARS Protests in Nigeria.” Schweizer Jahrbuch für Musikwissenschaft – Neue Folge 39: 27–45, https://doi.org/10.36950/sjm.39.2.Search in Google Scholar

Afolabi, T., and F. Gabriel. 2025. “Sòrò-Sókè: A Framing Analysis of Creative Resistance During Nigeria’s #EndSARS Movement.” Journalism and Media 6 (2): 69. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia6020069.Search in Google Scholar

Ajisebiyawo, Adekunle. 2022. “Social Media Influence and the #EndSARS Protests.” African Scholar Journal of Arts and Sociological Research 24 (6): 63–85.Search in Google Scholar

Akingbe, N. 2015. “Mythologizing Yoruba Orature: Lobotomizing Swivelled Pulses of Laughter in Niyi Osundare’s Waiting Laughters and Remi Raji’s A Harvest of Laughters.” Imbizo 6 (2): 22–41. https://doi.org/10.25159/2078-9785/2803.Search in Google Scholar

Akinyetun, Shola Tope. 2021. “Social Media, Youth Participation and Activism: An Analysis of the #EndSARS Protests in Nigeria.” Democracy & Development Journal 5 (3): 3–10.Search in Google Scholar

Akunna, Gladys Ijeoma. 2021. “Nigeria’s #ENDSARS Protests: A Window into How Creative Art Can Be an Act of Therapy.” The Conversation. July 7, 2021, 5:04 PM SAST https://theconversation.com/nigerias-endsars-protests-a-window-into-how-creative-art-can-be-an-act-of-therapy-163195.10.64628/AAJ.u9kd9xxedSearch in Google Scholar

Alasan, Rachael Queen. 2024. “Reflecting on Street Art in Socio-Political Movements in Nigeria.” Arts and Reviews. https://tribuneonlineng.com/reflecting-on-street-art-in-socio-political-movements-in-nigeria/ (accessed December 4, 2024).Search in Google Scholar

Amnesty International. 2022. “Amnesty International Launches Global Campaign to Confront Unprecedented Worldwide Threat to the Right to Protest.” https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/07/protect-the-protest/ (accessed July 19, 2022).Search in Google Scholar

Avramidis, K., and M. Tsilimpounidi, eds. 2018. Graffiti and Street Art: Reading, Writing and Representing the City. 1st ed. Routledge.Search in Google Scholar

Awopetu, I., and A. Ayobami. 2021. “Visual Communication for Activism: the Case of the EndSARS Protests in Nigeria.” In Paper Presented at the 4th International Academic Conference on Research in Social Sciences, December 8–9. Diamond Scientific Publishing.Search in Google Scholar

Bailey, Jason. 2020. Artists Rally to Support #EndSARS. October 26, 2020. https://www.artnome.com/news/2020/10/26/artists-rally-to-support-endsars. (accessed January 16, 2025).Search in Google Scholar

Baldini, A. L. 2022. “What Is Street Art?” Estetika: The Central European Journal of Aesthetics LIX/XV 59 (1): 1–21. https://doi.org/10.33134/eeja.234.Search in Google Scholar

Bargfeld, Laura. 2022. “Murals Paint Memories of Those Lost to Police Violence Across the U.S.” News21 https://inpursuit.news21.com/2022/09/20/murals-paint-memories-lost-police-violence-across-us/ (accessed September 20, 2022).Search in Google Scholar

Bruff, Ian, and Mel Jordan. 2021. “Art, Politics, Pedagogy: Juxtaposing, Discomfiting, Disrupting.” Art & the Public Sphere 10 (2): 143–56. https://doi.org/10.1386/aps_00054_1.Search in Google Scholar

Chavez, Eric. 2017. “Graff’ and the City: Towards a Socially Conscious Aesthetic Theory of Graffiti.” Open Access Theses & Dissertations 426. https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd/426.Search in Google Scholar

Chenoweth, Erica, Evan Perkoski, and Sooyeon Kang. 2017. “State Repression and Nonviolent Resistance.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 61 (9): 1950–69. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022002717721390. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26363972.Search in Google Scholar

Dark, Shayera. 2020. “#EndSARS: How Nigerians Harness Social Media Against Police Abuse.” Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/25/endsars-how-nigerians-use-social-media-against-police-brutality (accessed October 25, 2020).Search in Google Scholar

Disciplines in Nigeria. 2024. “The Role of Art in Nigerian Social Movements.” https://disciplines.ng/role-of-art-in-social-movements/ (accessed October 16, 2024).Search in Google Scholar

Eke-okocha, Nnaemeka Phil. 2021. “Women, Youth and Hashtag Activism: the ‘Endsars Movement’ in Nigeria.” Africa, Human Rights, Women, Youth. https://www.peaceagency.org/women-youth-and-hashtag-activism-endsars-movement-in-nigeria/ (accessed October 18, 2021).Search in Google Scholar

EMP. 2024. “Street Art: from Vandalism to Social Revolution.” https://www.emp-art.com/emp-blog/street-art-from-vandalism-to-social-revolution (accessed May 19, 2024).Search in Google Scholar

Enekwachi, Agwu. 2020. “Nigeria: #Endsars – the Art Behind the Protest.” Contemporary And. https://contemporaryand.com/magazines/the-art-behind-the-protest/ (accessed November 16, 2020).Search in Google Scholar

Engler, Mark, and Paul Engler. 2024. How to Make Sure Your Disruptive Protest Helps Your Cause. Waging Nonviolence. August 2024 https://wagingnonviolence.org/2024/08/how-to-make-sure-disruptive-protest-helps-cause/ (accessed January 16, 2025).Search in Google Scholar

Ezeugwu, Cindy Anene, Oguejiofor V. Omeje, Ikechukwu Erojikwe, Uche-Chinemere Nwaozuzu, and Ndubuisi Nnanna. 2021. “From Stage to Street: the #EndSARS Protests and the Prospects of Street Theatre.” Ikenga: Journal of African Studies 22 (2): 128–45. https://doi.org/10.53836/ijia/2021/22/2/007.Search in Google Scholar

Famule, Olawole. 2016. “Contemporary Art of Nigeria and Its Post-Independence Impact.” Presented at the Contemporary Art of Nigeria’s Panel Discussion, Chicago, August 2, 2014.Search in Google Scholar

Fayehun, Adeola. 2020. “Grateful for the Police Officers Who Marched with Protesters.” Facebook https://web.facebook.com/AdeolaFayehun/posts/3661217670561489/?_rdc=1&_rdr# (accessed June 1, 2020).Search in Google Scholar

Gabriel, F., and T. Afolabi. 2025. “Ar(c)tivism and Policing: Unveiling the Theatrics of Justice and Resistance in Nigeria’s Sọ̀rọ̀-Sókè Movement.” Arts 14 (3): 46. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts14030046.Search in Google Scholar

Ghadbian, Banah. 2021. “Ululating from the Underground: Syrian Women’s Protests, Performances, and Pedagogies Under Siege.” PhD diss., San Diego: University of California. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6j07n7j1 (accessed March 25, 2025).Search in Google Scholar

Gillan, K. 2018. “Temporality in Social Movement Theory: Vectors and Events in the Neoliberal Timescape.” Social Movement Studies 19 (5–6): 516–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/14742837.2018.1548965.Search in Google Scholar

Guest Author. 2024. “The Evolution of Public Art: How Street Art and Murals Are Transforming Urban Spaces.” Art in the West, September 6, 2024.Search in Google Scholar

Haiven, M., and A. Khasnabish. 2010. “What Is Radical Imagination? A Special Issue.” Affinities: A Journal of Radical Theory, Culture, and Action 4 (2): i–xxxvii.Search in Google Scholar

Ho, M. 2025. “From Mobilization to Aftercare: Movement Trauma and Care Work for Exiled Hongkongers.” Journal of Civil Society 21 (3): 279–98, https://doi.org/10.1080/17448689.2025.2500358.Search in Google Scholar

Iwuoha, Victor Chidubem, and Ernest Toochi Aniche. 2022. “Protests and Blood on the Streets: Repressive State, Police Brutality and #EndSARS Protest in Nigeria.” Security Journal 35 (4): 1102–24. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41284-021-00316-z.Search in Google Scholar

Kadıoğlu, Uluç. 2021. “Police Brutality in Nigeria and the #EndSARS Movement.” Harvard International Review. https://hir.harvard.edu/police-brutality-in-nigeria-and-the-endsars-movement/ (accessed January 27, 2021).Search in Google Scholar

Mitchell, D. 2003. The Right to the City: Social Justice and the Fight for Public Space. New York: Guilford Press.Search in Google Scholar

Nweke, Ernest. 2022. “Our Collective Memory of #EndSARS.” Republic. October 20, 2022. Special Focus: #EndSARS 6, no. 3 https://republic.com.ng/october-november-2022/our-collective-memory-of-endsars/.Search in Google Scholar

Odunowo, Omolola. 2020. “The Truth About the End Sars/Swat Protest.” LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/truth-end-sarsswat-protest-omolola-odunowo/ (accessed October 16, 2020).Search in Google Scholar

Okafor, Kosy Anulika. 2024. “Mural Arts in Anambra State-Nigeria: Impact Assessment of Selected Street Arts and Their Contributions to Nation-Building.” Estaga: Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives 1 (2): 1–16.Search in Google Scholar

Okereke, Melody, I. O. Ogunkola, Y. A. Adebisi, and D. E. Lucero-Prisno III. 2021. “Dealing with Two ‘SARS’ Outbreaks in Nigeria: the Public Health Implications.” Public Health in Practice (Oxford, England) 2: 100054, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2020.100054.Search in Google Scholar

Okon, Patrick Edem, Okon Effiong Udoyo, and John Nje. 2023. “One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure: Graffiti and Civic Education Among Youths in Nigeria.” Educational Research and Reviews 18 (7): 140–55. https://doi.org/10.5897/err2023.4330. https://www.academicjournals.org/ERR.Search in Google Scholar

Okoye, Anthony Chukwuebuka. 2023. “The Role of Social Media in Mobilizing Nigerian Youths During the #EndSARS Protests: Implications for Policy and Activism.” NDJLIS 4 (2): 91–105. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11218076.Search in Google Scholar

Oluwatoye, Amos. 2021. The Arts in Today’s Movements: Insights from Nigeria’s #EndSARS Campaign. Minds of the Movement, ICNC Blog. November 25, 2021 https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/blog_post/arts-in-todays-movements-insights-from-nigerias-endsars-campaign/ (accessed January 16, 2025).Search in Google Scholar

Oluwatoye, Amos. 2024. The Arts in Today’s Movements: Insights from Nigeria’s #EndSARS Campaign. International Center on Nonviolent Conflict. https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/blog_post/arts-in-todays-movements-insights-from-nigerias-endsars-campaign/ (accessed October 16, 2024).Search in Google Scholar

Patel, A. 2024. “Role of Public Art in Community Development.” American Journal of Arts, Social and Humanity Studies 4 (2): 47–57. https://doi.org/10.47672/ajashs.2358.Search in Google Scholar

Paul, John. 2015. “Protesting Police Violence: ‘Blacklivesmatter’ and Visual and Performance Art in the Era of Extrajudicial Police Killings.” International Journal of Humanities and Social Science 5 (10): 6–29.Search in Google Scholar

Rodríguez, Iokiñe. 2023. Just Transformations: Grassroots Struggles for Alternative Futures. Pluto Press. https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745344775/ (accessed June 6, 2025).10.2307/jj.8501592Search in Google Scholar

Sagan, H. N. 2015. “Specters of ’68: Protest, Policing, and Urban Space.” Doctoral diss., Berkeley: University of California. eScholarship https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5fw554xm (accessed August 23, 2024).Search in Google Scholar

Scott, J. C. 1990. Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts. New Haven: Yale University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Shobe, H. 2018. “Graffiti as Communication and Language.” In Handbook of the Changing World Language Map, edited by S. Brunn, and R. Kehrein. Cham: Springer.10.1007/978-3-319-73400-2_81-1Search in Google Scholar

Sneha, S. 2024. “A Comprehensive Guide to Mural Art – Techniques, Tools, and Everything.” Rural Handmade. https://ruralhandmade.com/blog/a-comprehensive-guide-to-mural-art-techniques-tools-and (accessed September 13, 2024).Search in Google Scholar

Soyinka-Airewele, Peyi. 2005. “Postcolonial Angst and the Nigerian Scholarly Estate.” Journal of Third World Studies 22 (1): 109–33.Search in Google Scholar

Supertransfer. 2025. Nigerian Street Art: Uncovering Vibrant Murals and Graffiti Culture. https://supertransfer.co.uk/Uncovering-Vibrant-Murals-and-Graffiti-Culture (accessed September 10, 2024).Search in Google Scholar

Thrana, Hilde Marie, Elin Hassel Iversen, and Kirsti Gjeitnes. 2023. “Painting Workshop: A Tool for Improving Communication and Social Interaction.” Art and Social Work, European Social Work Research Early view 1 (2): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1332/zpea1281.Search in Google Scholar

Transatlantic Translations Group. 2024. Artwork as a Powerful Form of Artful Communication. https://ttgtranslates.com/artwork-as-a-powerful-form-of-artful-communication/ (accessed October 16, 2024).Search in Google Scholar

Walker, Darren. 2017. “The Art of Democracy: Creative Expression and American Greatness.” LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/art-democracy-creative-expression-american-greatness-darren-walker/ (accessed March 21, 2017).Search in Google Scholar

Wanjiku, Ndung’u. John. 2024. “The Evolution of Street Art: From Graffiti to Social Commentary.” Journal of Arts and Management 3 (1): 17–9. https://rojournals.org/roj-art-and-management/.Search in Google Scholar

Weiss, P. 2025. The Aesthetics of Resistance. Translated by J. Neugroschel and J. Scott. Complete three-volume Set. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Zebracki, M., and J. Luger. 2018. “Digital Geographies of Public Art: New Global Politics.” Progress in Human Geography 43 (3): 531–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132518791734.Search in Google Scholar

Zur, H., and T. Hatuka. 2023. “Local–Digital Activism: Place, Social Media, Body, and Violence in Changing Urban Politics.” Social Media + Society 9 (2): https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231166443.Search in Google Scholar