DUSHANBE, September 8, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- The first graffiti festival entitled “Graffiti Is Flight Fantasy” has opened in the park near the Opera and Ballet Theatre in Dushanbe today.

Organized by the representative office of the Development Foundation “The Institute for Eurasian Studies” in Tajikistan jointly with limited liability company ZARA, the festival has brought together young gifted painters from many regions of the country.

Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property.  Graffiti is sometimes regarded as a form of art and other times regarded as unsightly damage or unwanted.

Graffiti is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings. Graffiti has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire.  In modern times, spray paint, normal paint and markers have become the most commonly used materials.  Sometimes graffiti is employed to communicate social and political messages.

There are many different types and styles of graffiti and it is a rapidly developing art form whose value is highly contested, being reviled by many authorities while also subject to protection, sometimes within the same jurisdiction.