ISLAMABAD, Dec 19: A graffiti art competition, on Wednesday evening, highlighted what students could achieve, if they were given the right guidance.

The competition was organised by Tetra Pak, at Lok Virsa open air theatre. The organisers had previously held competitions in a dozen schools and three art colleges. Three graffiti art works were selected from each educational institution to compete in the competition.

More than 50 students over the age of 13 were given cans and masks to spray paint their ideas.

Walking away with the first prize — Rs25, 000 — was a class 8 student, Afaq Ishfaq from St Mary’s School Rawalpindi.

“I want to light up the world,” Afaq said, explaining the idea behind his art piece on which a candle was painted, as a ray of hope.

It took Afaq Ishfaq three days to paint and create the three dimensional image.

“Talented artists exist everywhere. This is a great opportunity for children to express themselves through an art form that has started being taken in a much positive light,” said Zia Qureshi — one of the organisers — who added that such recognition helped children build their artistic skills.

Colourful texts and abstract faces filled the Lok Virsa open air theatre.

Fine Arts student from Hunerkada, Rabbiay Kaif, who also won a cash prize, had selected ‘Health’ from a limited number of topics to choose from.

The participating schools included Jinnah Public School, Bright Hall School, and Air Foundation School, all from Rawalpidi.

The competing colleges included Hunerkada, COMSATS, and Rawalpindi Institute of Arts.