Women are everywhere in street art—often painted by men. Even though graffiti is still a male-dominated scene, there are many talented women artists making their marks. Take a tour of works from some of the most active female artists in Europe.
LessMedianeras, which means “blindwalls,” is actually an Argentinian duo of 2 “artistas” who live in Barcelona today. After a long lockdown, the duo visited La Baneza and created a huge face looking from inside the house, emphasizing the idea of ′′opening′′ the wall with the painting. It seems that this person is actually spying around without getting noticed. You know the riddle: ”I spy with my little eye ….”
Judith De Leeuw made a name for herself in rollercoaster fashion; the multiple award-winning artist was born and raised in Amsterdam and travels the world, leaving huge portraits. This mural in Rome depicts a woman looking into a mirror, seeing her reflection as a man, creating emotional understanding in the process of acceptance in the LGBT+ movement. This wall was created with Airlite paint which claims to purify air. Art can definitely heal.
Lula Goce was born in Galicia at the salty coastal beaches and graduated in fine art in Salamanca. She further developed her art skills in Barcelona, where she came in contact with the underground graffiti scene. Now she travels the world leaving her photo-realistic artworks. With this mural in Vigo, she enjoyed home-court advantage, painting a huge mural where two girls are whispering. If you’re very quiet you might overhear what they’re talking about. Part of the “Vigo cidade de cor” project.
Lidia Cao is college graduate with an illustrator degree, born in Santiago De Compostela, and became a muralista in 2016. She loves creating volume through simple lines, playing with different textures. With "El anhelo" (the yearning), she wants to remind us how much we miss hugs and physical contact in times of Covid. An act so simple and meaningful has become very difficult now. Will hugs ever be the same again? Painted for Asalto Festival.
French street artist Vinie Graffiti is well known for her poppy pin-up portraits of women. Characterized by “volume,” these mesmerizing murals feature cartoon-like characters with extreme proportions, expressive faces, and swirls of stylized hair. Looks like this girl is dreaming of a brighter future. Have a close look at her afro and try to read the words hidden there.
Despite male street-art domination, the ‘Hands Off The Wall’ project manages to be an all exclusive female street art festival. Hera of the popular Herakut duo was part of the 2020 line up, and her mural is dedicated to those who will one day run the world and understand how everyone has different strong suits, yet all part of one family sharing one sky above us.
Tamara Alves is a Portuguese artist who lives in Lisbon, and for the Iminente Festival in 2019, she painted at an abandonded restaurant with the best panoramic view over Lisboa. Her work is characterized by aggressive lines, strong shadows and little color, often depicting a human body, or part of it, with animals. Here she emphasizes the animal side of humans that we all share.
Jacoba Niepoort is a Copenhagen-based artist, and with her art, she tries to investigate the bonds between people, nature and the body in a personal way, visualizing universal feelings and topics. A mural about ways we interact with the world around us. Jacoba has been using masks in her work to portray the barriers or glasses (perceptions). The mural portrays two figures, exposed, yet partially shielded by masks, sitting in a field, handling feathers. Enter the mystery.
ZURIK, Bogotaborn and now based in Barcelona, is a graffiti writer and graphic designer who has built her career around her dynamic and colorful style founded in graffiti. She has earned international recognition, not only for being one of the few women who practices graffiti on a professional level, but also for being constantly evolving, without losing her roots. This particular wall was very special to her, because she based the whole concept on an earlier work of her her late husband, Treze.
MadC’s style has its roots in graffiti art, resulting in vividly coloured, dynamic calligraphy and transparency where all layers shine through and thereby capture the energy of painting on a massive scale in the street, without using a direct graffiti language. Her large-scale murals make her one of the world's top street artists, traveling the world for bigger and even bigger interventions. Can you feel the energy of this wall created for Berlin Mural Fest at Alte Hellersdorfer Strasse?