Al-Monitor | Zahra Alipour: “You are no artist if you are drawing on a wall with spray paint. You are either a vandal or a political activist scribbling a slogan,” Iranian graffiti artist "Mad" said of the longstanding public’s opinion on street art.


The first generation of Iranian underground graffiti artists started painting on Iran’s walls around the beginning of the 21st century, and the new generation of Iranian artists continue to transform the walls of Iran’s cities — from Tehran to Tabriz, from Mashhad to Shiraz.

“Our initial problem was that no one would differentiate between our work and vandalism. Street artists not only faced public intimidation in Iran, but they were also threatened by the police, the Basij forces and other security organizations,” Mad told Al-Monitor.

Read more here