Art With a Heart: Stop Telling Women to Smile
Street harassment is a serious issue that many women face, sometimes on a daily basis. There has not been enough meaningful conversation to address this issue; these conversations need to take place before progress can be made. Brooklyn based artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh created her street art project, Stop Telling Women to Smile in 2012 to spread awareness about gender based street harassment. Her street art addresses catcalls, comments on clothing, and other forms of harassment that women face on the streets. Her artwork is raw, realistic, and plays an important in voicing the truths about street harassment.
She bases her artwork on real portraits of women around the world and includes captions that are directed towards the street offenders. Her website says that the importance of her project is that it “takes women’s voices, and faces, and puts them in the street – creating a bold presence for women in an environment where they are so often made to feel uncomfortable and unsafe.”
We encourage you to share her artwork; it is a great way of spreading awareness about the issue of street harrassment. STWTS is a great example of how art can be used to address social issues and make an impact that ripples within communities.
To find out more about her empowering street art and her other pieces, you can check out the STWTS website or Fazlalizadeh’s personal website.