Femme Fierce 2015 and street art has just become the next Rock and Roll! Or, so you might think. The hoards of cameras clicking away certainly gave a hint to the sort of interest this event was having, such is the effect of this second installment of the all female takeover in the infamous Banksy tunnel.
The much anticipated Femme Fierce returned for 2015 to the thoroughfare known as Leake Street underneath Waterloo station. This was the second year running and transformed it into a sea of murals. Artists ranging from young beginners to some of the Worlds very best took part.
A legal graffiti spot, the tunnel was made famous in 2008 when Banksy hosted the first of his infamous CANS festivals. It was this that led to its designation as a free space for artists to paint and which set the scene as the go to place for the Femme Fierce festivities.
The Banksy Tunnel was turned blue
International Women’s Day
Hosted for the past two years on International Womens Day, the charity partner this year was Plan UK. Their ‘Because I’m a Girl‘ campaign has been raising awareness of the issue of child marriage with a number of the Femme Fierce artists having taken part in the painting of a mural on the Shoreditch Art Wall the previous day in recognition of the campaign.
Also part of the festivities were a series of seminars on issues ranging from Marketing for street artists, the history of Leake Street Tunnel from LDN Graffiti and even one from ourselves here on Inspiring City about the way that social media has changed street art.
lilly lous tribute to Malala with Artistas spray can
Femme Fierce 2015
All that is for a different day though, the real action took place on the Sunday when upwards of 9000 people visited the tunnel to see the live art and to soak up the atmosphere. Students from DV8 training also took part in terms of providing entertainment as well as recording the events whilst a host of other videographers, bloggers and photographers made sure to add to the assembled body of work online.
For the artists it was an excellent opportunity to showcase their work on such as accessible stage and for the public a chance to enjoy the creation of free live art in a festival atmosphere with some of the best talents around. Needless to say there was a lot going on and frankly just too much for us to record all the artists here in this little post. We did give it a good go though so check out the gallery below to get a feel for what was an amazing day and an amazing event.
Femme Fierce 2015 Gallery
The crowds in the tunnel were packed all dayBoth inside and outWork in the tunnel featuring the likes of Zina and RooStephanie Thieu was one of the artists hosting workshops the day before the main eventPhotographer Lewis Phillips set up in a portable studio to take portraits of the artists during the dayThe pimp of Femme Fierce guarding the tunnel
Powerful Messages
Mr. R and Papa GiBs came over from France to paint this powerful message. The boys donned wigs and make up for the day to support the causeFinal Girls ‘I believe you’ pieceCharlie Girls 3 women swapping masksNext to Hazard, Weardoe and Wonnersh painted what looked to be a graffiti piece. That is until you look at the detail and realise that it contained a history of womens rightsSome of the detail contained within Weardoe and Wonnershs impressive pieceAnthea Missy’s mural was one of the most powerful of the day showing a girl locked inside a ring.Maga’s tribute to Malala YousafzaiGeorgies ‘Believe in Me’ piece. Photo by Rob Wilson JnrVanessa Longchamp also had a powerful message to give with her mural about the horrors of child marriageS.O.S painted this piece to raise awareness of the horrors of FGM.The S.O.S piece was very impactfulMutiny chose to use the event as a means of drawing attention to the plight of birds at threat from extinctionWhilst this artist chose to draw attention to the plight of the tiger by creating a mural made up of mini paw prints representing each tiger still active in the wild
And showcasing the very best of street art talent from the UK and the World
Cherie Strong normally best known for her delicate drawings did the same thing but massive and on a wallMiss Hazard went big with one of her familiar portraitsNeonita went bright as everPixie looking like she’s about to get up to no good decided to paint a meditating slothDenise Mangaram aka LadyLashDee picked the same spot as last year and went biggerSuzko went for the same cute cat as last yearPainting next to her Stedhead from the Isle of ManEmily Evans did a large scale paste upEmily Evans piece in the tunnelWolfmutha has a penchant for owls and that’s exactly what she paintedWolfmutha in action in the tunnelCbloxx and Aylo produced another stunning muralCbloxx and Aylo next to their mural. Photo by Rob Wilson JnrSomething beautiful is about to happen by SLM artHaunting piece by JDKPang mixing up her stylesSarah Doyles BooB piece made a reappearanceFloat’s colourful hanging baublesJoyce Treasure and AnnatomixSri back with her distinctive golden style1stop went for the flying heartsLondon based French artist Zabou decided to make a show of the whole event, hugely popular with the public as she dressed for the occasion and was constantly surrounded by photographersThe Finished Zabou piece ‘Girls Reload mark 2’French artist Stephanie Thieu gave a workshop the day before and then painted with her mother who had come over from France. Her mural was a portrait of her mum and was a total suprise as she created the portrait without telling her anything about it.From France but living in Belgium, Anthea Missy is a popular artist with her unique footwearRytual from Austria painted this striking portraitFio Silva, Squarehead and MondiFio Silva, the Argentinian street artist had won an international talent competition to paint at Femme Fierce. This Rhino was the fourth mural she had painted in four daysOrginally from Singapore but now based in London, Mish Chang went to the the same spot as last year and went for her mermaid ‘fish out of water’ theme.Swedens popular Amara Por DiosSimoni Fontana all the way from Greece. Photo by Rob Wilson JnrSimoni and Cleo43 having a chat. Photo by Rob Wilson JnrGreek artist Cleo43 in the middle of creating her colourful abstract pieceGreek artist Marianna Cute painted these little champions of Leake StreetSpanish artist Elno portrait by Rob Wilson JnrRomania’s Adriana Doi’s colourful pieceItaly’s Guisi Tomasella painted the goddess AthenaFinal Girl came over from Canada to paint at the eventNorways Zina, always popular with the pressZinas finished pieceArtists from the next generation on this wall included Dutch talent JoJo
And the winner of the most spectacular piece of the day as chosen by the judges
Hannah Adamaszek won the judges prize for most spectacular pieceThe Leake Street Tunnel
Really was a great day out for all!!!…Not even a namless brown patched elbow jumper bod could distract this from being an amazzzzzzzzzzing event!.. My awards.. Best paste up JDK, Best stencil Zabou, Best free hand Rytual,…. So many ladies really painted so well, so they are all winnnnnnners in my eyes… Roll on the next year!
Excellent review of an incredible event. Well done for your hard work and thanks again for the various heads ups and info when asked.
Really was a great day out for all!!!…Not even a namless brown patched elbow jumper bod could distract this from being an amazzzzzzzzzzing event!.. My awards.. Best paste up JDK, Best stencil Zabou, Best free hand Rytual,…. So many ladies really painted so well, so they are all winnnnnnners in my eyes… Roll on the next year!
Amazing pictures!I can not wait to go to Leake Street.Great work! ♡