After being dormant for almost a decade, the Phun Phactory, the city's largest showcase for graffiti artists, opened in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on Saturday.

More than 60 artists, including some premiere aerosol artists, filtered through the group's new permanent space on North 15th Street and Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg.

The Phun Phactory, which was originally founded in Long Island City, Queens in the 1990s and shut its doors in 2001, plans to once again serve as a safe haven for aerosol artists in the city and from across the world.

Organizers at the Phun Phactory are hoping to create the world's largest outdoor aerosol mural as an homage to one of their founders, Michael "Iz The Wiz" Martin, who died last year.

"Basically today is in tribute to [Iz] and our relaunching, so it all kind of fell together and we said 'Well, we'll just do it all at once,'" said Phun Phactory founder Pat Di Lillo.

"Iz meant a lot to so many people and I really wanted to come out and just represent and show the love he that had for us and the art form," said "Swing," a protege of Iz The Wiz who came from Connecticut for the graffiti event.

Those who attended wanted to celebrate graffiti's past and to make the art form relevant to a larger audience.

"It's a good feeling, because we're definitely old writers here. 'Ink,' 'Best,' 'Venom' -- these are writers who used to tag up the [subway] line," said "Mr. R.M.O.D.," a graffiti artist. "And now we're all together, we haven't seen each other since we was kids [sic]. It's like a family reunion. We wanted to do it somewhere where we got permission to express, take your time and really show your talent."

"New York City does not acknowledge that they themselves started this art movement. So the significance of relaunching the Phun Phactory is creating a platform, an international platform for aerosol art to have exposure," said Phun Phactory director Jeremy Vega.

They also hope to spread respect for graffiti to a younger generation.