Opera Supports Female Artist

Heres a cool article on Oprah and her involvement with a urban art.Pretty cool Oprah!  


Last week artist Panmela Castro (front row, far left) is one of the six incredible women who was honored at the 2012 DVF Awards. Created in partnership with The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation, The DVF Awards aim to recognize and honor extraordinary women leaders who are making a difference on both local and global scales. A graffiti artist from Brazil, painting under the name Anarkia, she brings the message of women’s rights to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro through art that informs women of their rights under the nation’s only domestic violence law, passed four years ago.
In just two hours, she created a striking painting using only spray paint to send out a very significant message: women have power. Her take on a painting of a warrior who symbolized power and conquest, Panmela replaced the masculine with the feminine–now a woman would be the image of power. Mixing dark colors with bright yellow and fuchsia splashes, she quickly turned a white canvas into an evocative statement.

Before signing the back of the canvas, Panmela added something that distinguishes her work from any other: with a black paint marker, she writes a string of words that hold no meaning in any language–they signify the unspoken words of every woman who has ever been silenced or abused. To see her as she writes this message, a message she intends for all women, is to understand why she does what she does.

Other recipients included; Life Time Achievement Award to Oprah Winfrey, Inspiration Award to Jaycee Dugard in recognition of her advocacy for families that have suffered a familial or non-familial abduction or other trauma.

The recipient of the People's Voice Award, as determined by the public through popular vote on DVFAwards.com, will be Layli Miller-Muro for her work on behalf of Tahirih Justice Center, a nonprofit organization that protects immigrant women and girls through legal services, advocacy, and public education programs.
Chouchou Namegabe is a journalist in the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and founder of the South Kivu's Association of Women Journalists (Association des Femmes des Medias du Sud Kivu), which is working to bring the plight of Congolese women to an international stage.