“Mother Earth,” mural by Jelly at WOM event in Tottenham, 2022. (Photo: Jelly).

Women are taking over the streets—with their art, that is. Women street artists are not a new phenomenon. Lady Pink, Faith47, Swoon, Miss Van, Maya Hayuk and Alice Pasquini are just a handful of many whose names are repeatedly listed when the topic of women street artists comes up. But there are many more artists from across the globe whose murals transform the neighborhoods in which they appear, reflecting the community and uplifting it at the same time. Here are five exceptional women of color you should know, creating murals that are must-see destinations.

Jelly J (London, UK)

 “Supersize lashes and good vibrations” are at the heart of Jelly J’s murals, the first of which was on her living room wall. A few Instagram posts later, she was invited to an immersive clubbing and painting event and, from there, found her community of graffiti and street artists. Writing on walls began even earlier for Jelly, who papered her bedroom with club and rave flyers given to her by her brothers, then penned messages of love, peace, and unity over them, subconsciously making the connection between underground culture and street art. Informed by these early experiences, her “Rave Not War” mural painted at Whitecross Street Festival in London is perhaps Jelly’s best-known work.

However, her first exposure to street art was through watching American television shows set in New York with graffiti-covered subways. She saw the English version of that while traveling on the train to London for treatments of her chronic autoimmune condition and “loved the raw energy and contrast of the graffiti walls amidst the hustle and bustle of the city.”

Jelly, painting her ‘Mother Earth’ mural at Tottenham for WOM event 2022. (Photo: Johanna Urschel).

Though she holds a degree in illustration, Jelly learned the craft of graffiti on the streets. “The first time I tried spray paint was on a wall in the freezing cold, it even snowed but I persevered because I felt so free. There was no practicing. I just gave it a go,” she remembers.

The vibrant and distinct women of color at the center of Jelly’s murals are self-reflective, as much as the affirmations she incorporates into her work reflect her attitude. The latter stems from her less-than-optimal health situation. “You Are Enough” is her default slogan, and influences of spirituality, nature, and the third eye feature prominently as part of her healing journey.

“I’m still in the process of healing and experience pain daily,” Jelly admits. “But so many other aspects of my health have improved, and my brain has never been sharper. I know I am in the right direction, and I hope my artwork brightens someone’s day and makes them feel they are part of something bigger.”

Stina Aleah (Cleveland, US)

 “Community, togetherness, pride, and unity” are the key features of Stina Aleah’s outstanding murals, which are mainly seen in Cleveland, Ohio. Her work ranges from smooth blends for portraits to sharp crisp lines (identifiers of her murals), and reflects the areas it beautifies figuratively, and, in its area-specific elements. Case in point, “Murals Across the City,” her recent mural commissioned by Destination Cleveland in the city’s Lee Harvard neighborhood. “The Land” ticks all her boxes as it brings art to an area that doesn’t have much aesthetic beauty, it fosters pride in the residents who see themselves and their streets in the details of the mural, and it challenged Stina, who brought new elements she hadn’t tried before to the piece.

Stina Aleah, 2022. Preparing for a mural commissioned by Bleacher Report. (Photo: Howard Bruce).

Stina came to art as an unintentional form of therapy after a major injury. She spent extensive time in the art room her junior year of high school, where she was introduced to 3D art. “When I was healing from my injury, I fell into a depression, and art healed me mentally while I was healing physically,” she says.

 Years later, Stina experienced the visceral impact of Miami’s Wynwood Art District and moved to the area to surround herself with art, absorbing and learning from the work she saw all around her. She taught herself to paint, dedicating herself to the craft and sharing her progress.

“I showed up for myself every day and shared my work, not only the good, but the journey,” says Stina, who believes consistency is key. “I started to cultivate a following and a support system of people who loved what I was doing. Bringing authenticity and vulnerability helped me attract the right people.”

Stina Aleah 2022. Preparing for a mural commissioned by Bleacher Report. (Photo: Howard Bruce).

In turn, Stina has provided solace through her art. Each piece she creates directly connects to a story in her life or a message she wants to convey. These resonate with those who are dealing with their hardships and struggles. “It amazes me how people come forward to tell me how much it means to them,” says Stina. “I hope that when anyone in these communities I visit looks at the work, they are excited about things to come, inspired, and encouraged.”

Shamsia Hassani (Kabul, Afghanistan)

“Women into power” exudes from Shamsia Hassani’s many murals that beautify the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan, as well as walls in many other countries of the Middle East, Italy, Germany, Norway, India, Vietnam, and the US. The impact of Shamsia’s work is the greatest in her home country, where Afghans who have limited opportunities to experience art in the traditional settings of museums and galleries enjoy her large-scale murals, for free, as part of their daily lives.

Graffiti at Darul Aman Palace, Kabul, Afghanistan, by Shamsia Hassani. (Courtesy: Wikipedia).

A former professor of art at Kabul University, where she earned her master’s degree in visual art, Shamsia is also the co-founder of the Berang Art Organization. Her emergence into street art began when she attended a workshop conducted by the UK street artist, Chu, in 2010. Not surprisingly, her presence in the streets, brandishing a spray can, and sometimes a brush and acrylic paint, is not necessarily a welcome one, particularly by the more fundamentalist members of Afghan society.

Shamsia’s murals tell the story of Afghan women over the last dozen years. They depict women in hijabs of varying coverage. Their mouths are invisible, and many times, they are holding or playing an instrument. The murals have a 3D effect, inviting the viewer to step into the world of the mural and get to know its subject.

 A hijab-wearer herself, Shamsia’s intention in keeping her women covered is to dispel the misunderstanding of the hijab as the oppressive element of Afghan society. Rather, it is the woman’s voice that is silenced with the invisible mouth, and through the instrument is how she is communicating.

Birds of No Nation at Hamburg, Germany. (Courtesy: Wikipedia).

She told Street Art Bio, “I believe there are many who forget all the tragedy women face in Afghanistan; that is why I use my paintings as a means to remind the people. I want to highlight the matter in the society with paintings reflecting women in Burqas everywhere. I try to show them bigger than what they are in reality, and in modern forms, in shapes of happiness, movement, maybe stronger. I try to make people look at them differently.”

Sam Kirk (Chicago, US)

“Rainbows and dimensions” sum up the immediacy of Sam Kirk’s murals, which have the vibrancy and depth of a picture book but on a large scale. Sam’s work features on many surfaces in the queer artist’s hometown of Chicago, and beyond. The narrative nature of her images—which she primarily creates using water-based acrylic paint and brushes—celebrates culture, identity, and social justice topics with the aim of public art helping individuals learn more about each other.

Sam Kirk, World Pride Victoria Cruz Mural 2019. (Photo: Angie LMV).

“My art reflects my lived experiences, the resilience of marginalized communities, and the beauty of cultural fusion,” Sam says. “It’s my way of preserving history, sparking dialogue, and embracing authenticity. For years, I wanted to paint more public work that integrated my identity, but most property owners weren’t ready for this. In 2019, when I designed the World Pride installation in NYC’s Times Square, this shifted and opened the door for dozens of LGBTQ focused murals.”

 Sam, who is biracial, including Latin heritage, grew up surrounded by street art in the ‘80s and ‘90s, which was bolstered by Chicago’s mural movement. A self-taught artist, she first showed her work in galleries in the late 2000s and soon after began receiving large-scale commissions. She pointed her energy toward public art and began receiving her due a few years later.

 Her bold outlines and the illustration quality of her work bring with them the timelessness and definition of stained glass and the dimensionality of a mosaic, both of which reflect the intersectionality her work represents. “I hope my art creates a sense of belonging, inspires pride, and challenges perspectives,” she says. “Public art has the power to transform spaces into places of reflection, joy, and activism, and I want my murals to be catalysts for those experiences.”

Sam Kirk, Farm Workers, Jab Produce Kali Grey, 2024. (Photo: Sam Kirk).

This intention has translated globally with Sam’s mural “Sister Cities” in Casablanca, Morocco. Part of an exchange between that city and Chicago emphasizing their shared strength and vibrancy, according to Sam, “It was a powerful experience to create public art in a new cultural context, reinforcing the idea that art transcends borders and can foster deeper understanding between communities.”

Ni Santas Collective (Los Angeles, US) 

“Tireless activism from local to global” is what comes to mind when scrolling through the Los Angeles-based all-woman-of-color art collective Ni Santas’ Instagram. The collective’s works are dotted all through their home county and surroundings, not only in the form of murals but also in workshops and community programs. Revolving around Clover and Joan Zeta, since 2016, Ni Santas have reimagined the tagging and gang graffiti of their coming-up years in the South Central and Boyle Heights areas of the city into uplifting murals that reflect its indigenous culture.

 “Our murals depict self-awareness, healing, love, women’s empowerment, and community,” they say. “We feel like a ‘work in progress’ as humans striving to be positive and righteous influences. We paint what we experience, see, feel, and the process of our personal growth as a collective. We want our work to reflect Los Angeles.”

“The Migrant Mamas” mural by Las Fotos Project and Self Help Graphics with teaching artists Signs of the Movement, Grabriella Claro, Arlene Mejorando, and Miranda Ynez. Acrylic on wall, 2018. (Photo: Joan Zamora).

Clover’s and Joan’s knowledge of street art comes from hands-on experience—even though they both have formal art education. The former is in mural restoration, art history, design, and sign graphics, while the latter holds a bachelor’s degree in art with an emphasis on painting and photography.

They channel their talents to create works of visibility and representation, positivity and love, with people who look like them. Inside Los Angeles’s all-ages independent venue, The Smell, Ni Santas’ mural of women in all shades of brown looks down at the crowd, conveying how happy that makes them.

The community focus of Ni Santas is perhaps best embodied in “The Migrant Mamas,” their mural next to Boyle Heights’ popular Purgatory Pizza. The mural is a partnership between Ni Santas and Las Fotos Project (an organization working to “elevate the voices of teenage girls and gender-expansive youth from communities of color through photography and mentoring”) with the support of the nearby Self Help Graphics.

 Say Ni Santas, “This project stands out to us because of the younger girls who participated. It felt full circle, being able to mentor and create with the youth, specifically girlies of color. It felt like our mission was well and alive. Creating memories and healing together.”