By Taziz Hasairi.

Tripoli, 10 April 2014:
A Libyan photographer has beaten 170 entrants to win first prize in a UAE-based Art of . . .[restrict]Graffiti competition.
Bashar Hkulailh’s image the Pulse of the Wall shows traditional musicians playing against a background of colourful graffiti lettering, in a juxtaposition of the old and the new.
The Art of Graffiti award was created by the the college of Fine Arts and design at the University of Sharjah, and was launched during the sixth session of the Sharjah Calligraphy Forum 2014.
Graffiti is now being recognised as a modern art form that is attracting increasing attention and focus in the Middle East. Both the artistic merit of graffiti and its use as a medium to convey messages to a wide audience are starting to be appreciated.
The Sharjah Calligraphy Forum is one of a range of activities and events as part of the celebration of Sharjah as the capital of Islamic culture in 2014. The event is held every two years.
Lebanese Photographer Heba Almalik won second prize and Egyptian Photographer Mohammad Sharif Abdul Ghani came third in the competition.
At the end of a ceremony honouring the winners, they joined His Highness the Emir of Sharjah, Sultan bin Mohamed Al-Qasimi for a celebratory banquet. [/restrict]