JEDDAH, 17 June 2007 — Crudely drawn graffiti is an increasingly common sight in Jeddah, resembling something more like vandalism than anything that could be called art. A local company is now hosting a graffiti competition to provide a legal outlet to distinguish between vandals and artists.

Ecko brand, which is part of Al-Zahid Trec, will host the competition on Wednesday. So far nearly 80 young men and women have registered to compete. “Most likely we will let girls participate, since half of the applicants are females,” said Kareem Al-Haratani, marketing manager of Ecko brand.

The first-place winner will receive SR5,000, while first and second runners-up will get SR3,000 and SR1,000, respectively. The competition has received the blessings of city officials and the walls of a local parking lot owned by Al-Zahid Trec will be the contest’s urban canvas. Contestants will be judged by the storyboards they provide. Winners will be able to reproduce these storyboards on walls.

Graffiti art (or vandalism, depending on your view and the quality of the work) is a worldwide form of urban expression. Some graffiti artists become recognized for their talents. Graffiti can appear in different manifestations: From traditional spray-painting walls in the middle of the night to using pre-cut cardboard stencils or even sheets of paper with images printed on them that are plastered on walls using homemade wheat-starch glue.

In recent years, a graffiti arts group in Chicago even created “reverse graffiti” using high-pressure precision water sprayers to spray off the stained filth that accumulates on sidewalks, revealing the clean concrete beneath in creative patterns.

The art attracts youths because of its subversive nature, points out Al-Haratani. “Forbidden fruit tastes sweeter,” he said. “The contest will allow them to demonstrate their skills and energy within the rules.”

The jury of the contest will include an American, a local graffiti artist and an official from the center’s administration.

Emad Iskanderani from College of Business Administration (CBA) said he was the first to register to participate in the contest. “I started painting a long time ago and I prefer freestyle painting. I want to try my skills and see how it goes,” Iskanderani said, adding that he secretly tries graffiti painting on a wall near his house.

“What interests me in graffiti is that it spurs the imagination,” he said. “When you start painting, you do not know how it will look when it is finished.”

He added that the graffiti in Jeddah is bad. The most common form of graffiti tends to be writing, usually in Arabic with the occasionally naughty word in English thrown in.

“The sentences written on the walls do not make any sense... I want to learn graffiti as an art form as it is abroad,” he said.

“I usually draw on paper and discourage the vandalizing graffiti that ruins walls of Jeddah,” said Thoraya Binzagr, 19. “I’m interested in drawing cartoons and will think of participating in such contest after I watch how the upcoming Ecko contest will go.”

Saleh Fetyani, CBA freshman student, said he also intends to participate. “I like these types of competitions that encourage the youth to use their skills to complete with each other,” he said. “The random paintings in Jeddah’s streets are really bad.”

For further information visit: www.zahid-trec.com.