4 Women Street Artists Making Their Mark

Born in Leningrad, USSR, Zoya always loved art. Enrolling in art school against her parents’ wishes, she turned her passion into a career in 2010 when, at the age of 24, she got divorced and quit her job. Since then, she's created many works in and around St Petersburg.

Much of her work is overtly political. She uses her images to criticise the current regime and to comment on the role of women in modern-day Russia. In her words: 'I hope that Russian women will be free and will stop being afraid of expressing themselves.'

Portugal has many apartment buildings and abandoned spaces. This makes it ideal for street artists who want a blank canvas. Mariana Dias Coutinho makes the surfaces she paints part of the process, looking to the stains, lines and cracks in the walls for inspiration.

Mariana Dias Coutinho takes inspiration from female artists in Portugal and around the world. She says art is ‘our opportunity to stand for and represent the contemporary woman: strong, powerful, hard worker, mother, lover and a free individual.’

Stephanie Rond was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1973. She studied fine arts at Ohio State University and started creating street art in 2007. Founder of the website, Women Street Artists, Rond uses a mix of materials to create her works.  

Her work explores the female experience. She uses her images to combat the objectification of women that’s seen in advertisements everywhere. Rond hopes her work will inspire future generations of female street artists and help create a world where everyone can be heard.

One of the very few women active in the French street art scene, Kashink’s work is a celebration of humanity's diversity. Unusually for a female artist, she exclusively paints men. Her huge, brightly-colored figures are often hairy and have four eyes. 

Inspired by Frida Kahlo, Gilbert and George, and Keith Haring, among others, Kashink has travelled the world, gathering ideas from different cultures and countries on the way. Provocative, creative and challenging, her work has been exhibited in Europe, Canada and the US.

Argentina has a vibrant street art scene and many of the most prominent creators are women. As a result, Milu Correch doesn’t focus on gender. Instead, she looks at the work itself and the impact it has on the space around it. 

Correch spent years as an artist before learning the techniques required to take an image from a sketchbook to a wall. Gradually, her images became bigger and more expressive – today she’s one of the most exciting street artists in South America.

Learn more about female street artists here.