Female Street Artists

Can you name a female street artist?

Prior to starting my project, I could not name a female street artist if asked, so I wanted to change that for myself and others. The focus of my project is to bring awareness to some amazing female street artists, specifically in the New York and New Jersey area. There are so many street artists that go unnoticed, just because of their gender, and I wanted to change that by posting about them on my Instagram page. It’s important that female street artists get the recognition that they deserve because not only are they amazing artists, but they’re breaking stereotypes by being a part of a male-dominated community.

@femalestreetartists

As a part of my project, I did email interviews with some artists and included their words into the captions of my Instagram posts. Their interviews give insight into what it’s like being a female street artist, and they all recognized that there are obstacles that they have to overcome due to their gender. It was so interesting to read the interviews because they all emphasized that so much work still needs to be done for female artists to gain full acceptance within the street art community. Every artist that I interviewed came from a different background, but they're united in the sense that they are passionate about creating graffiti art, because it allows for free expression. It's actually contradictory how even though graffiti art is "free" since it is created in public spaces, the female artists in this community are given less opportunities due to their gender.

My Instagram account is just one project that spreads light into the amazing female street artists. This project is a long-term project, even after this class ends, I will still be posting on the Instagram page to spread light onto the female street artists that come across my attention. I look forward to actually visiting some graffiti pieces in person throughout the summer around New York. This account is really important because it shows the viewers that females can be street artists, amazing ones too, even though this type of art is pre-dominantly male. The pictures featured on the account also show that not all graffiti or street art is garbage, these women have created complex and meaningful pieces that deserve to be praised and appreciated. I've received positive feedback from the page so far, including appreciation for spreading attention to beautiful street art pieces that the people would've never known about if it weren't for my page. If you would like to be a part of my project, follow @FemaleStreetArtists on Instagram!

Works Cited

FatFreeArt.com. www.fatfreeart.com.

Frank, Priscilla. "10 Women Street Artists Who Are Better Than Banksy." The Huffington Post, 4 Sept. 2014, www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/04/female-street-artists_n_5759430.html.

Girl Noticed. girlnoticed.com/.

Street Art NYC. NYC2017, streetartnyc.org.

"10 Female Street Artists." WideWalls, www.widewalls.ch/10-female-street-artists/faith47/.