Become a graffiti artist tonight at the Tang

While the main events of the second annual Hip Hop Culture Week will begin Monday, October 20, the organizers will offer a prelude tonight, Thursday, October 9, with "Graffiti Night" in the Payne Room at the Tang Museum. Cans of spray chalk and refreshments will be available starting at 7 p.m.

The entire campus community ? faculty and staff include ? is invited, says Daniel Tejada, president of the Hip Hop Alliance, which is sponsoring the event.

"Graffiti Night is about coming together in a social space to enjoy each other's company, and letting our creative side flow," he says. "We want to show that graffiti can be art, not just random writings and destruction of property. We want to show that doing graffiti back in the day was a social and artistic experience."

Those who attend, Tejada advised, "should be ready ready to get messy."

"We also suggest people bring their iPods and share their music with others," he said. "We hope to gain a sense of what rap music means to each of us."

Highlights of Hip Hop Culture Week will include a panel discussion on Hip Hop culture Wednesday, Oct. 22, a keynote lecture by Hip Hop expert Kim Osorio Thursday, Oct. 23, and a concert and slam poetry contest Friday, Oct. 24.