Herakut is a Berlin-based artist duo founded in 2004. Hera (nee Jasmin Siddiq) was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1981, while Akut (nee Falk Lehman) was born in Schmalkalden, Germany in 1977. Both artists went on to study visual communications—and graphic design as well, in Hera’s case—at university; Hera at the University of Applied Sciences in Weisbaden and Akut at the Bauhaus University in Weimar. The duo’s first collaboration was in 2004 at the Urban Art Festival Sevilla in Spain.
Herakut’s approach to art is humanitarian. To them, art is communication, and if this potential is used correctly, they can be a strong influence in society. More than half of Herakut’s work often correlate to present issues regarding political injustice and social awareness, with focuses upon supporting children in need, in a home for abused children homes in Frankfurt, in a Syrian refugee camp in the Jordanian desert, in an orphanage for Palestinian refugees in Bethlehem, in the immigrant’s asylum ‘Bayernkaserne’ in Munich and teenagers from a drug-rehab program in Miami. All the experiences that come from their support go on to become the inspiration of the minds and paintings of Herakut.
Herakut produces both massive murals and smaller works on canvas and paper, and their art can be found all over the world, ranging from Kathmandu to Melbourne. They are renowned for painting large-scale murals all over the world, the biggest ones being located in Odinzowo, Sao Paolo, Miami, and Berlin.
