The first sighting of a graffiti tag on a Jordanian bus dates back to the summer of 88.

The unknown tagger went by the name “Nimir El Disco” which translates to “The Disco Tiger.”

Someone most probably got inspired by Martha Cooper’s Subway Art.

Soon more graffiti drawings and tags followed as one early tagger, who preferred anonymity, told us.

Tags like:

“The Bee Gee Boys” , “Daddy Cool” , “Baba Jordan” , “Abu Awad” , “Ghawar El Tosheh” , “Abu 3antar” , “El Jamal” , and “Jawad” among many.

Sadly there aren’t any photographs of this rare happening of graffiti, in its early stages, in Amman.

Verbal accounts, over time, meshed into a fantastical amalgam of urban legends, especially when the name “The Disco Tiger” popped up in the conversations of graffiti artists.

Through the Graffiti On The Bus show we wish to capture the magic of that first moment when someone tags a surface for the first time.

This is why we will offer graffiti artists all over the world the chance to leave their tags, throw-ups, stickers, stencils on a printed hard paper Jordanian bus.

Why a bus not a regular New York subway cart on top of which all the graffiti magic happened back in the day and that still happens?

The bus we chose was a big part of the urban setting of the early 70s and 80s in our Amman – plus it looks wicked.

If you are from Jordan contact FADA 317 for your cutout bus.

If you live abroad e-mail our curator at mikevderderian@yahoo.com so as to send you a digital copy that you can use and send back to us to be displayed at F.A.D.A. 317.

Spray the word … claim the bus!

F.A.D.A. 317
March 2018