06/10/2012 Edmonton Journal

Tuesday Âť September 2 Âť 2014

Graffiti artist leaves mark of hope Brazilian in demand all over the world for her work Paula Simons Edmonton Journal Saturday, October 06, 2012

The woman on the wall of Edmonton's House of Refuge Mission is beautiful.

She glows, red and gold, long flowing hair streaming behind her. Against a backdrop of stark, nearly leafless autumn trees and a golden moon, she holds a bottle of spray paint in her hand. From the can comes a light blue wave of paint, which floats a paper boat toward the beacon of a light house.

It symbolizes the transformational power of art, a voyage from darkness into the light.

It's also an apt self-portrait.

C REDIT: Greg Southam, Edmonton Journal Brazilian graffiti artist Panmela C astro visited Edmonton this week to create a mural on a wall of the House of Refuge Mission.

The new mural at 103A Avenue and 95th Street is being created by award-winning Brazilian graffiti artist and social activist Panmela Castro, 31.

In 2006, when she was just 25, Castro began a campaign on the streets of Rio de Janeiro to publicize Brazil's new law against domestic violence. In a country where the abuse of women had long been tolerated, Castro was determined to use colourful large-scale graffiti to inform women of all social classes - including those who couldn't read - about their new rights.

Her renegade art campaign became a social and political sensation, and brought international media fame to Castro, who was named one of the 150 Women Who Shake the World by Newsweek and the The Daily Beast, and awarded the DVF Prize for courage by a foundation started by designer Diane von Furstenberg.

Castro was in Edmonton this past week as the guest of her friend, Edmonton street artist and muralist Trevor Peters, a.k.a. Kurly.

They met in 2007, when Peters travelled to Rio to check out the street art scene. Peters accessed grant money from the City of Edmonton, the Boyle Street Community League, Capital City Clean Up, the Edmonton Arts Council, Responsible Hospitality Edmonton, the Old Strathcona Business Association, the Old Strathcona Foundation, and Rotary to bring Castro to Edmonton to collaborate with him on two murals, one at the mission, and another on the wall of the Chicago Deep Dish Pizza, south of Whyte Avenue.

Castro is donating her fees to establish a cultural centre in the slums of Rio for children and teens.

"I didn't know this city existed until I saw it on a map," Castro admits.

"It's a city very different from mine - it's good for me to see things here and

see how different things can be.

"The weather is different. But also the attitude is different, the way people think is different.

"In Rio, everybody likes graffiti - it isn't against the law. Here, people don't know if it's vandalism or if it's art. They don't know if it's going to be good."

"In our culture, we have a very different conversation about graffiti.

"We use graffiti to make our society better. People see it as something beautiful, as something you contribute to the conversation, not something degrading."

Just having Castro here is something of a coup. In the last year, since the Newsweek and Daily Beast articles made her famous, she's been travelling the world, painting murals in Prague, Vienna, Madrid, New York and Washington, D.C. "To start a mural scene here, I wanted to bring an artist of Panmela's stature, so people could see what they can aspire to do, to show them what murals could be," says her co-artist, Peters.

"I wanted to show them that graffiti is not just a legit art form, but that it can cause change in communities."

Already, their colourful, moving mural is changing the mood at the low-key House of Refuge Mission and soup kitchen, a formerly nondescript little grey building that ministers to the most desperate, vulnerable and volatile.

Bob Vandergrift, a board member and volunteer, likes the mural and the respect Castro showed to those who use the mission.

"The first night, she just sat outside with the people and got a feel for the place," he said.

"I was surprised," says Castro. "I used to think that there was no inequality in a rich country like Canada.

"Now I see you have the same trouble here, with people living in the street.

Thanksgiving Monday, the Refuge of Hope will roast, carve and serve 27 turkeys for Edmonton's homeless.

By then, Castro will be flying down to Rio. But mission dinner guests will be greeted by the grace she leaves behind, a glowing image of an artist using her paint to bring hope and light and joy and empowerment to those who need it most.

"You have so much cold, so much grey here," she says. "You need colour, to make people look." psimons@edmontonjournal. com Twitter.com/Paulatics edmontonjournal.com Facebook.com/EJPaulaSimons Š Edmonton Journal 2012

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