While many were enjoying the street art in Cambridge, one artist was left in disbelief.

Sunday morning it was discovered that a vandal(s) had defaced one of the artworks at the Cambridge International Street Art Festival, taking place this weekend.

Evond Blake, known as Mediah Iah, had been one of many street artists participating in the festival, where the pictures are a form of communication, without needing words. A celebration of a different art form.

This was the first festival for Cambridge that brought some of the world’s top street artists to Waterloo Region.

25 artists from around the globe including Spain and Portugal painted on large canvases, turning grey walls into works of art.

Blake posted a photo on Facebook today, that a hateful, racist message had been left across his work.

He says when he returned on Sunday morning, after leaving during Saturday’s thunderstorm, he found the slur spray painted onto his unfinished piece.

Speaking with CTV News, he says this act is unfounded.

“I’m an internationally acclaimed artist, and this person had the nerve to put that on my artwork,” said Blake.

Blake says organizers were offended when they heard about the incident, and that it gives Cambridge a bad name.

They’ve left the language up to raise awareness about the problem.

He was one of the only black artists working at the festival yesterday. 

Blake believes whoever did this was watching him paint.

“This was pre-meditated. The way that it was written, was written as a message,” said Blake.

He decided to leave the festival early, upset that organizers at first asked him to paint over the profanity.

Organizers say it was a difficult decision.

“Having it out on one hand is probably a good thing, and hiding it maybe is another way of solving it. But it's a tough call,” said Brian Price, the festival director.

“For somebody to come through and just you know, put a really horrible, hateful comment on there is really hurtful. I really like to think that we live in a better world than that,” said Maralisa Finnegan, a Cambridge resident who visited the festival.

“It's a reality that I think a lot of people maybe will have to have a conversation with their kids today about that word and racism in Canada, and I think that's a good thing,” said Naomi Brown.

“You should be offended and the more you see it, the more you'll feel that it is wrong and it's a violation,” said Norman Orenstien.

A police investigation is now underway.