Rangoon city authorities on Monday banned graffiti on public buildings, roads and bridges, as well as in schools and parks. Authorities said anyone defying the ban would face an unspecified punishment, according to a report by The Associated Press (AP).
The report quoted graffiti artists as saying that the ban was not a surprise because authorities were copying regulations enacted in other countries. The artists also said they expected many to continue drawing, and urged authorities to provide a legal outlet for their work so they would not have to act illegally.
Nineteen-year-old graffiti artist Arker Kyaw—who became a minor celebrity with a painting of US President Barack Obama on the eve of his historic visit to the city last month—is quoted as saying, “The psychology of young people is the urge to do something more when it is prohibited.”
Another graffiti painter said that there are now around 150 such street artists in the former capital.
