“World in Moldova is open to us”. Info-Prim Neo interview with Sasha Trun and Sergey Grach, international graffiti and break dance stars from Russia

Info-Prim Neo: What is your impression of the Graffiti Festival held between June 30 and July 3 at Shopping MallDova center? - Sasha Trun: This is my first visit to Moldova, but I like it very much here. I accepted the invitation of Shopping MallDova with pleasure. The organizers staged an extraordinary event as the young people who are fond of this genre of art had the possibility of showing their skills through drawing and dance. - Sergey Grach: The idea to hold the festival is very good. It was convenient to dance in the mall as the stage there is large and the people can see better. I’m for the first time in Moldova, but I was impressed by the people who are eager to try something new. - Info-Prim Neo: What can you say about the graffiti art in Moldova? At what level is it? - Sasha Trun: It is at an incipient stage, but I’m sure that an own style of graffiti will appear here in the future. In about three years, people will develop graffiti and will create the Chisinau style. Moldovan specialists will be invited to Russia to show their skills. - Info-Prim Neo: How did your team TAD-AFF appear? - Sasha Trun: At the beginning, our team was called RFF. It was like a hip-hop band that included b-boys (break dance dancers – e.n.), graffiti artists, DJs. Sometimes, we were involved in making films. TAD-AFF was created later. It brings together only professional graffiti painters. We aim to win all the festivals in Russia and abroad. - Info-Prim Neo: Can we change the world and make it better through graffiti? - Sasha Trun: Any art makes life more interesting and brighter. The important thing is that you like what you do. - Info-Prim Neo: Was the graffiti art brighter in the semi-legal period, as an expression of protest, or at present in a legalized form? - Sasha Trun: The graffiti art in Russia is not legal. All the drawings are illegal. It does not matter where they are made. Usually, the graffiti painters are punished for what they do. - Info-Prim Neo: What are the most unusual places where you have painted? - Sasha Trun: The most unusual place for me was a town in the suburbs of Saint Petersburg. When you enter this town, you get a cosmic energy that inspires you. Another town in that area impressed me by the multitude of graffiti drawings. - Info-Prim Neo: Who inconvenienced you the most at this festival: the visitors of Shopping MallDova who watched you or those who passed by? - Sasha Turn: Neither of them. When you create, you do not see anything, only your drawing. You evade to another world where there is only the drawing and you. - Info-Prim Neo: What would you wish to the beginning graffiti artists of Moldova? - Sasha Trun: The art is limitless. When you do not have money or face problems, you must be strong, forget about everything and do what you like. - Info-Prim Neo: Sergey, they say that break dance is dangerous for health. What do you need it for? - Sergey Graci: It happens that we receive injuries, but the satisfaction you get when dancing compensates for everything. I started to dance late, at 17, but I understood that this style is for me as it represents me. - Info-Prim Neo: What other dance styles you perform? - Sergey Graci: The break dance does not have styles. It includes only movements, rhythm and graffiti as they form part of the same culture that does not have rules and limits. - Info-Prim Neo: What is the level of break dance in Moldova? - Sergey Graci: There is no level of break dance. Everything depends on the person and how much they want to assert themselves. - Info-Prim Neo: How will break dance develop in your opinion? - Sergey Graci: At the beginning, the people understood each other through gestures and drawings. Everyone can dance and sing. The development depends on each person’s will. Interview conducted by Svetlana Bargan Info-Prim Neo Note: The shopping center Shopping MallDova organized the Graffiti Festival for the first time. It took place between June 30 and July 3 under the slogan "Summer Hot Shopping". Graffiti artists from Moldova, Romania, Russia and Ukraine were invited to decorate the boards placed near the mall. Sasha Trun, a member of the graffiti team TAD-FF from Saint Petersburg, who is one of the most famous graffiti drawers in the world, taught a graffiti masterclass. Within the festival, the most energetic b-boys made a real show. Sergey Grach, who took part in numerous contests and festivals in the CIS and Europe, did masterclasses.