Panmela is an activist artist whose social policy work, primarily focused on gender equality, provides the core inspiration for the content of her provocative paintings.
Using graffiti as a vehicle for cultural transformation, Panmela challenges patriarchal notions of public space as related to sexism, sexuality, subjectivity, and power relations. She is the founder and president of Rede Nami, a feminist urban arts network working to promote human rights while strengthening the artistic, intellectual, and professional skills of women living in favelas.
Two months after the program, Panmela sent an update:
“I was putting all my energy in the social program and forgetting the business, and my company was not selling sufficient to continue. We saw that one main problem was that people see the name “graffiti” as public (free) art made by teenagers. People saw me as a very nice person that made things for the others, for free."
With the help of her mentor Rena De Sisto, Panmela saw immediate results:
"I changed the way that I was communicating my image and changed the concept of my website. Today we receive four times more solicitations than before, and we are making good sales. What's better, it's not changing my social work. It's just two different channels.”
