Republic of Tunisia Culture

Republic of Tunisia Culture

The culture of Tunisia is mixed due to its long established history of outside influence from people – such as Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Siculo-Normans, Turks, Italians, Maltese and the French – who all left their mark on the country.

Republic of Tunisia Painting

The birth of Tunisian contemporary painting is strongly linked to the School of Tunis, established by a group of artists from Tunisia united by the desire to incorporate native themes and rejecting the influence of Orientalist colonial painting. It was founded in 1949 and brings together French and Tunisian Muslims, Christians and Jews. Pierre Boucherle was its main instigator, along with Yahia Turki, Abdelaziz Gorgi, Moses Levy, Ammar Farhat, and Jules Lellouche. Given its doctrine, some members have therefore turned to the sources of aesthetic Arab-Muslim art, such as miniature Islamic architecture, etc. Expressionist paintings by Amara Debbache, Jellal Ben Abdallah, and Ali Ben Salem are recognized while abstract art captures the imagination of painters like Edgar Naccache, Nello Levy, and Hedi Turki.

After independence in 1956, the art movement in Tunisia was propelled by the dynamics of nation building and by artists serving the state. A Ministry of Culture was established, under the leadership of ministers such as Habib Boularès who oversaw art and education and power. Artists gained international recognition such as Hatem El Mekki or Zoubeir Turki and influenced a generation of new young painters. Sadok Gmech draws his inspiration from national wealth while Moncef Ben Amor turns to fantasy. In another development, Youssef Rekik reused the technique of painting on glass and founded Nja Mahdaoui calligraphy with its mystical dimension.

There are currently fifty art galleries housing exhibitions of Tunisian and international artists. These galleries include Gallery Yahia in Tunis and Carthage Essaadi gallery.

A new exposition opened in an old monarchal palace in Bardo dubbed the "awakening of a nation". The exposition boasts documents and artifacts from the Tunisian reformist monarchial rule in mid-19th century.

Republic of Tunisia Literature

Tunisian literature exists in two forms:

• Arabic and French. Arabic literature dates back to the 7th century with the arrival of Arab civilization in the region. It is more important in both volume and value than French literature, which was introduced during the French protectorate from 1881.

Among the literary figures include Ali Douagi, who has produced more than 150 radio stories, over 500 poems and folk songs and nearly 15 plays, Khraief Bashir, an Arabic novelist who published many notable books in the 1930s and which caused a scandal because the dialogues were written in Tunisian dialect, and others such as Moncef Ghachem, Mohamed Salah Ben Mrad, or Mahmoud Messadi.

As for poetry, Tunisian poetry typically opts for nonconformity and innovation with poets such as Aboul-Qacem Echebbi.

As for literature in French, it is characterized by its critical approach. Contrary to the pessimism of Albert Memmi, who predicted that Tunisian literature was sentenced to die young, a high number of Tunisian writers are abroad including Abdelwahab Meddeb, Bakri Tahar, Mustapha Tlili, Hele Beji, or Mellah Fawzi. Themes of wandering, exile, heartbreak, disconnection, memory, and representation are often focuses of Tunisian literature.

The national bibliography lists 1249 non-school books published in 2002 in Tunisia, with 885 titles in Arabic. In 2006 this figure had increased to 1,500 and 1,700 in 2007. Nearly a third of the books are published for children.

Tunisia Overview

Tunisia Location: North Africa
Tunisia Capital and largest City: Tunis
Tunisia Co-Ordinates: 36°49′N 10°11′E
Tunisia Official Languages: Arabic
Tunisia Local Vernacular: Tunisian Arabic
Tunisia Foreign Languages: French
Tunisia Ethnic Groups (2021):
98% Arabs
1% Berbers
1% Jews and others
Tunisia Religion:
99% Sunni Islam
1% Others (inc. Christians, Jews, Shia Muslims, Baháʼís and irreligious)
Tunisia Demonym(s): Tunisian
Tunisia Government: Unitary presidential republic
Tunisia President: Kais Saied
Tunisia Prime Minister: Kamel Madouri
Tunisia Legislature: Parliament
Tunisia Upper House: National Council of Regions and Districts
Tunisia Lower House: Assembly of the Representatives of the People
Tunisia Establishment: Ancient Carthage 814 BC
Husainids: 15 July 1705
Kingdom: 20 March 1956
Republic: 25 July 1957
Tunisia Current Constitution: 25 July 2022
Tunisia Area Total: 163,610 km2 (63,170 sq mi) (91st)
Water (%): 5.04
Tunisia Population: 2020 estimate
11,708,370 (81st)
Tunisia Currency: Tunisian dinar (TND)
Tunisia Time Zone: UTC+1 (CET)
Tunisia ate Format: dd/mm/yyyy
Tunisia Driving Side: right
Tunisia Calling Code: +216
Tunisia ISO 3166 Code: TN
Tunisia Internet TLD:
.tn
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