Panmela Castro is a 28-year-old multi-media artist from Brazil who uses graffiti and street art to promote social change and awareness. Panmela Castro realizes her vision with the human rights organization Comcausa and Grafiteiras Pela Lei Maria da Penha, a project that links graffiti and urban culture to combating violence against women. Through this project, Comcausa carried out a campaign to educate disadvantaged women about the recently passed Maria da Penha Law on Domestic and Family Violence against Women, a law named after a woman who was so severely beaten by her husband that she was paralyzed for life.

To further this project, Panmela ventured into the slums of Rio de Janeiro to create murals that promote awareness about the existence of the Maria da Penha Law and to educate women about their rights under the new legislation. Panmela uses her art to extend a lifeline to victims or witnesses who were previously too afraid to speak up but are now informed of their rights, unable to ignore or avoid the messages that her murals portray about the importance of Maria da Penha and the law that has been named for her. Maria da Penha herself has been featured in some of Panmela’s work.

Along with the group that formed during the project, Panmela co-founded Artefeito, an organization that carries out social projects and uses art as an instrument of cultural transformation. Panmela believes that she can make the world a better place by using graffiti to portray messages of positive social change. In addition to studying at the prestigious Federal University Art School in Rio de Janeiro, Panmela has earned herself a place as one of the most important figures in the Brazilian graffiti movement through her socially conscious art. She has also paved the way for women graffiti artists in Brazil through the Graffiteiras BR network.

Today, Panmela travels internationally to promote Graffiteiras BR’s mission and to share her vision through lectures, exhibits, and workshops hosted by the United Nations, the OSA Art Forum, the German Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, the La Familia Ayara and the Caramundo organization. She has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Hutúz Award, the most important Hip Hop award in Latin America. Panmela continues to be active through her participation in public events, workshops, and social projects.