Portraits of the Femme Fierce artists taken in the Leake Street Tunnel during the 2015 festival have been released by photographer Lewis Phillips. Lewis, a good friend of this blog, has spent a lot of time documenting the art of the East End. We’ve also featured his work here on the blog before.
This time he focused on the people. Namely the 100 or so female street artists who descended upon the Leake Street tunnel as part of Femme Fierce. It’s the second time the festival has run and the second time Lewis has released a series of portraits. You can see his work from 2014 here.

Artist Portraits
During the festival, a studio was set up in the tunnel to capture the artists. Presenting a unique series of portraits of women active within the urban art scene. Coming from all parts of the UK and from around the World, the festival was immensely popular. Packing out the tunnel with crowds the likes of which have not been seen since the Banksy Cans Festivals.
We last featured work from Lewis as he documented homelessness on the Strand. That show in Trafalgar square shone a light on the challenges faced by people on the street in one of the wealthiest areas of the city. Prior to that we showcased some of his work on Brick Lane. There he captured some of the dynamism of that particular street.
This work though is about documenting the creativity of the tunnel but not through the art of the walls. Rather this is by featuring the personalities of the artists themselves. The portraits taken are a unique insight into the artists of the Leake Street tunnel. A few can be seen below but most can be visited by heading to www.lewisphillipsimages.com.
Street Artist portraits from Femme Fierce




















For another articles about all female street art events in the Leake Street Tunnel. Have a look at this article featuring the WOM collective from 2020.
Brillllllant post on outstanding femme artist….