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SCMP Reporter

A series of summer workshops gave teenagers a chance to express themselves through  graffiti.

A graffiti workshop was one of four free courses at the 'Clean & Clear 903 Hong Kong Secondary Student Hand-in-Hand Union'.

Other workshops on offer were modelling, hair-styling and breakdancing.

The event was jointly organised by Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Company and Clean & Clear.

Participants attended two hours of talks per week.

A professional graffiti tutor who only wants to be known as Syan said graffiti came from hip hop culture.

Syan said he was disappoint ed with Hong Kong people's lack of understanding of graffiti.

'Graffiti has been recognised as culture in other countries. It is a movement, not just a trend,' he said.

Syan had studied art in France. He said graffiti represented freedom and equality of expression for everyone.

'Graffiti is not only a word or a cartoon on walls. It has a much deeper meaning,' he said.

Syan thought that at present, there were only a dozen people in Hong Kong who understood what graffiti was.

He hoped that Hong Kong people could be more open to appreciating the art and letting it develop.

A participant in the workshop, Connie Lee, 18, a Form Seven student from AD&FDPOH  Leung Sing Tak College, said: 'I heard the promotions on the radio and jumped at the chance to take part because I couldn't find other ways to learn about graffiti.'

Connie said graffiti artists drew their signature mark - or tag - in different designs and colours on walls.

Another participant, Yuen  Chung-sze, 17, said she wanted to learn the art and paint on walls in Hong Kong if it became legal to do so.

'You have to be brave for this art because you could be caught for painting on public walls,' she said.

Olive was a summer intern from Hong Kong Baptist University



Young people try their hand at graffiti