Take Back the Streets: Celebrating women empowerment through art
The Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) of University of Dhaka (DU) was filled with vibrant scenes on International Women's Day. The premises witnessed a novel celebration, as artists gathered together to create wall art. Titled Graffiti: Take Back the Streets, the event was organised by Cartoon People, in collaboration with Plan International Bangladesh and DU. Young artists projected their visions for an equal world through graffiti.
As the sun peeked through the grey clouds, prominent and promising artists worked together to create artworks on custom-made walls to celebrate the day. The works portrayed women of various backgrounds, ages and professions. Yet, they all had one feature in common: women empowerment and leadership.
"We have created these artworks to encourage women from all backgrounds to take back what is rightfully theirs," said Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy, cartoonist and founder of Cartoon People. The main objective of this event was to uphold the demand of young people for the leadership of girls and young women to establish a world of equality, where everybody will enjoy equal rights.
One of the art pieces featured women of different professions coming together and forming an explosion that looked like a fist aiming towards the sky, as if to say, the sky's the limit. Another striking piece was a tranquil portrait of a garment worker with her sewing machine. While the graffiti was done with traditional paint, the wings that grew from her back and the crown atop her head was sprayed with ink. "We wanted to portray the extraordinary facets of ordinary people. This woman comes from a humble background, but she is a leader and a queen, in her own right," said Mong Shonie, one of the artists of the piece. "We deliberately used spray paint on this piece to show that it is possible to combine two mediums. People often relate spray-paints with vandalism. Yet, in this piece, it enhances the beauty." Other works featured female photographers, Begum Rokeya, young girls pursuing their dreams and so on.
"We wanted to do a campaign stunt, like a flash mob in a public sphere. A form of activism, where people can both observe and participate," said Kashfia Feroz, Head of Influencing, Plan International Bangladesh. She added that the art installations will be sent to different universities of the country, one being placed at TSC. "We hope that the youth will be inspired by this movement," she added.
Even though the sudden gust of wind and drizzle disrupted the event momentarily, it did not dampen the spirit of the artists. As the sun came back again, the brushes resumed to paint until the artworks were complete. "Painting is actually a therapeutic experience and we really enjoyed working with all these artists," said Samira Hossain, a student of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). She, along with many others, volunteered to participate in the event.
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