{"id":3440,"date":"2012-04-05T09:00:01","date_gmt":"2012-04-05T12:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=3440"},"modified":"2015-08-14T19:13:29","modified_gmt":"2015-08-14T22:13:29","slug":"women-in-leadership-art-activists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=3440","title":{"rendered":"Graffiti, Gender & Rock in Nova Igua\u00e7u"},"content":{"rendered":"

CatComm<\/a> recently surveyed some of the most active women community leaders in our network about womanhood and community leadership to get a sense of women\u2019s voices<\/a> and knowledge across Rio\u2019s communities. This is the second article in the series. View video interview with Giordana Moreira here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"In 2005, journalist\u00a0Giordana Moreira<\/a>\u00a0covered Brazil\u2019s first National Meeting of Women Graffiti Artists. As it came to an end she had inadvertently\u00a0solidified the weblike connections between her personal interests in politics, art and gender issues. She became interested in the particular situation of women graffiti artists.<\/p>\n

Giordana realized that graffiti\u2019s nature, being a street art like other elements of hip hop, made participation extremely difficult for women: \u201cHaving to carry a book bag full of spray paint in public, stop in the middle of the street without asking permission to graffiti… all this challenges the place society designates for women, which is a private space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Giordana notes that today graffiti is made accessible through workshops when a few years ago it could only be learned on the street from other artists: \u201cHaving so many men involved intimidated women and being just one woman among so many men made it all the more difficult to learn technique.\u201d Giordana also admired the solidarity of women graffiti artists, some of them traditional feminists and others not interested in feminism at all, who put aside these differences to paint together.<\/p>\n

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Giordana later incorporated this in her work with the NGO ComCausa<\/a>, when coworkers became interested in concentrating efforts around the Maria da Penha law<\/a>, which strengthens punishment for aggressors in incidents of domestic violence. From her efforts, Women Graffiti Artists for the Maria da Penha Law was born, which later became Artefeito<\/a>, a group of graffiti artists whose work tackles gender issues and sexism. Giordana is also a founding member of Roque Pense<\/a>, a group sponsoring workshops, fanzine, radio, and rock music initiatives born out of a partnership between Artefeito and Let\u2019s Pense!<\/a>, a poetry fanzine. “Pense”, literally “Think” is Artefeito’s abbreviation for “Para uma educa\u00e7\u00e3o n\u00e3o sexista,” or \u201cfor a non-sexist education.\u201d Giordana identifies the roots of her work in her teen involvement in alternative culture, particularly at the Nova Igua\u00e7u Skating Rink, the oldest in Latin America. This early affinity for culture and art, paired with active involvement in political discussions, were part of natural professional developments that led to Giordana\u2019s career in art and activism with a focus on gender issues.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> For organizations like Artefeito, which allows women and men participants, a common difficulty is that a lot of funding opportunities are designated for women-only organizations. Giordana claims that \u201cspace has got to be made for women to participate, while at the same time not excluding men from the process. At Roque Pense, even though we work towards female protagonism, we also work with rock in Rio\u2019s northern suburban region…and we can\u2019t exclude men from this. We have to get them together with us to share knowledge and power.\u201d Even within mixed-gender organizations, however, Giordana advises that women be given the responsibility of suggesting and approving solutions, since, after all, they are the ones suffering discrimination. Having to remind male participants of this on occasion is necessary.<\/p>\n

When asked what her philosophy is for gaining ground in women\u2019s rights and participation, Giordana says, \u201cFrom the moment a woman takes responsibility as the owner of creation, she will certainly share power with men.\u201d Giordana cites musician Rita Lee, who challenged women beginning their music careers to always compose their own songs, and likewise, advises that women graffiti artists “have got to paint a lot, host their exhibitions and workshops themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

A huge challenge, as Giordana puts it, is that \u201cmen are always the protagonists.\u201d In rock, for example, \u201cthe majority of those on stage are men, and that means the band\u2026 and the technical team. It is extremely difficult for women to get on stage.\u201d Giordana even recalls one of her events where the stage director was a woman, and none of the all-male crew members would respect her. \u201cIf you look at the production team, it\u2019s all women. But when it\u2019s time for a photo op, or the show, however, it\u2019s all men.\u201d<\/p>\n

Giordana\u2019s years of life and professional experience make her an invaluable source of knowledge on women\u2019s issues and the difficulties for organizations working in this area. Giordana cites the \u201cfalse idea that (the problem of women\u2019s rights) has already been solved\u201d and women artists who claim to \u201cthink (work with women\u2019s rights issues) is great\u201d but don\u2019t want to participate themselves, as very challenging and common occurrences. Giordana explains, \u201cWomen artists end up forgetting values… what they want is to tag along with the men – they\u2019re the ones with the power and the contacts, and they\u2019re decades ahead of women.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> This male dominance in protagonism is why Giordana\u2019s advice to women to be the sole producers of their own creations is so relevant. Once women make it on stage, however, there is still more work to be done: \u201cIt\u2019s not enough just to create. You can be a woman in a rock band or an amazing graffiti artist, super famous, but it doesn\u2019t help if you gain all this and don\u2019t share a feminist message. You\u2019ll just be another member in a market of men.”<\/p>\n

Giordana remembers the first Let\u2019s Pense fanzine workshop with a non-sexist education theme. 15 men attended, along with two facilitators: Giordana and a man. \u201cI started by talking about the discrimination that happens in our every day yet no one notices. A man will go out to have a beer, but a woman feels bad leaving her child at home with a relative. A woman thinks, \u2018ah, I have to wash these dishes,\u2019 and if she doesn\u2019t, \u2018I\u2019m not a good woman.\u2019 If a man doesn\u2019t wash the dishes, he couldn\u2019t care less. He won\u2019t feel any guilt.\u201d Giordana was surprised at the positive responses she got from the young men. \u201cMaking people recognize discrimination is the most practical strategy,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

And does the world lose out on anything when we don\u2019t have women\u2019s participation and artistic expression? \u201cThe world loses exactly what is most needed today, a real sense of humanity.\u201d Giordana argues that, because of women\u2019s role in society, conditioned to think more about family and be more perceptive of and sensitive to other family members\u2019 emotions, women have sharpened these skills, much more so than men. \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s lost, especially in art, something that stirs up emotions. Without women\u2019s participation, this humanity, solidarity and organization are lost. It\u2019s wrong to make women responsible for the psychological well being of families, but this makes women develop this skill, much more so than men.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> Particularly with young people, however, one must help “youth do what they want to do. It doesn\u2019t help at all for you to put a flag in the young person\u2019s hand and tell her to march in defense of such and such law. If this law doesn\u2019t seem relevant to her, she won\u2019t go.\u201d Giordana advises incorporating these and other social issues into activities that youth already like. \u201cIt\u2019s a lot better to host a festival of feminine rock than to hold a meeting that people will abandon later.\u201d<\/p>\n

This resonates with Giordana\u2019s own experience, observing wisdom within seemingly irresponsible circles: \u201cNone of my singing and dancing friends had any ideas about activism, but actually, this group of people knew a lot more about responsibility to one\u2019s fellow human beings than a lot of people who called themselves activists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch this video to hear more about Giordana\u2019s personal experience with art and activism.<\/p>\n