( CNN ) -- Egypt 's revolution in 2011 gave birth to an explosion of new creativity , especially street art . No longer confined to exhibit their works in galleries , more and more artists are turning humble streets into open-air studios and outdoor museums . Their canvas of choice is a bare , dusty wall on which they spray cheeky graffiti and paint colorful murals . `` Graffiti is a form of art , one of the ways of expression , '' said Ahmed Al-Attar , playwright and artistic director of the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival . `` It 's kind of making a statement , that the public space is for everyone . It 's for walking , it 's for sitting down , it 's for demonstrating . It 's for art . '' Read more : Sex , lies and lithographs in Iran . Street art has existed in Cairo before the revolution , albeit furtive and hardly visible . Graffiti or posters would pop up on some streets , but they usually soon disappeared , painted over or torn up . Street artists were chased away by police , or worse arrested . During the 2011 uprising , activist artists created graffiti and murals as a form of non-violent protest . Now , in post-revolution Cairo , street art is spreading . Murals and graffiti stencils appear even in an affluent neighborhood like Zamalek , instead of hidden alleyways . Some of the artworks are emotionally charged , expressing social anger , political frustration or paying tribute to fallen protesters . Read more : Could the next Banksy come from Dubai ? In a reflection of their newly elevated status , graffiti artists get commissions from art galleries . But they or their works still risk being targeted , especially by the powerful army and its supporters . Ganzeer , possibly Egypt 's most famous street artist , was briefly arrested in May 2011 , months after the revolution , over a poster criticizing the military 's repression of freedom . After the army removed President Mohamed Morsi from power in July 2013 , passers-by ripped off many of sculptor Alaa Abdel Hameed 's eagle sculptures , inspired by the military 's insignia , that were plastered upside down because the artworks were seen as an insult to the armed forces . Read more : Dubai to build the world 's biggest souk . Art plays a crucial role in times of political and social change , said Al-Attar , who founded and runs Studio Emad Eddin , a rehearsal space for performing artists in Cairo . `` For me , it 's one of the important factors that led to change . '' Under the Mubarak regime , the prevalent sense of fear had a paralyzing effect on people 's self-expression . But , `` once they realized there 's nothing really to fear , they started to go back to their old ways of expressing themselves , '' said Al-Attar , `` drawing on walls , singing in streets , you know , going back to the public space . '' The Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival is trying to encourage more creative expression . `` Egypt has a big heritage when it comes to art and culture , '' says Al-Altar . `` And that is one of the reasons that trying to tame that society does n't really work . It 's a society that likes to dance and sing and eat and be outside , and that 's part of it . '' Yenni Kwok contributed to this report .
Egypt 's revolution in 2011 has given birth to an explosion of new art , especially street art . Street art has existed in Cairo before the revolution , albeit furtive and hardly visible . Artists and curators are working to showcase the country 's burgeoning creativity .