Graffiti Camp for Girls

Girl Mobb created Graffiti Camp for Girls in 2017 in response to the dearth of public art by women and girls. Oakland Art Murmur commissioned her to create a list of all the murals painted by female artists in downtown Oakland. "There are hundreds of murals in this area and I could only find 20 done by females, which is just ridiculous," she says. "I just wanted to figure out what I could do about it."

She started Graffiti Camp for Girls to develop the talents and create opportunities for girls to create public art. The week long camp gives them a place to learn the process and skills to collaboratively create a mural based on themes they decide. Our artists provide creative counsel, image planning, understanding of tools and application, and safety precautions necessary to create murals with spray paint. The end result is a mural designed and executed by the girls themselves.

The biggest sustainability challenge of Graffiti Camp for Girls is making the class available in any city at no or low cost. At least 20% of all campers received full or partial scholarships.

Graffiti Camp for Girls has garnered significant media coverage and is well known among youth of Oakland. Outreach is not our challenge. Our pain point is making the class available to those who cannot pay. Girl Mobb would like to partner with the Awesome Foundation to make a Free to All Comers Oakland camp in 2018.

A grant from the Awesome Foundation would fund a week-long entirely free intensive murals workshop in Oakland for 7–10 young women between the ages of 12–18. The primary audience for this project is these participants.

The secondary audience will be every girl who walks, bikes, or drives past the site. We especially intend for female artists and girls to see the work, learn about a supportive and thriving women’s street art scene, and imagine their place within it.

Finally, residents of the city of Oakland and the greater Bay Area will experience this collaborative work.

Financé par Oakland, CA (April 2018)