Graffiti Queens Festival 2025

Event in Manaus reinforces female protagonism in urban art in the Amazon

With the theme “Donas do Rolê”, the Graffiti Queens Festival 2025 is one of the largest in Latin America
Manaus – Manaus is preparing to host another edition of the Graffiti Queens Festival, an event that is consolidating itself as one of the largest festivals of female urban art in Latin America. With the theme “Donas do Rolê”, the 2025 edition will be held on May 10 and 11, starting at 9 am, at the entrance to Campo São Pedro, located on Avenida Nepal, Nova Cidade, in the northern part of the capital of Amazonas. The event is in partnership with the cultural collective Movimento Nepal Vive.
“Graffiti Queens was created to disseminate, promote and create an increasingly strong scene among women who do urban art, both in Brazil and around the world”, stated Wɨra.

Over the course of nine years, Graffiti Queens has faced challenges such as seeking support and sponsorship, especially because it is a project conceived by women and, for their part, who are mothers. Even so, the festival grew, gained international repercussion and today inspires other similar projects.
“We managed to create the first women's graffiti magazine in the world. Many artists from outside the country signed up to participate in the editions, and this shows the strength and scope of what we are building”, highlighted the creator.

In 2021, the festival marked a historic feat by holding Yapai Waina, the first women's graffiti festival in the Amazon, named after the Kokama indigenous people.

“It is a milestone in the history of urban art. An international festival focused on women from the Amazon, with an indigenous name, shows that native peoples are also present in urban art”, highlights Wɨra.

Diverse programming and focus on the community

The 2025 edition promises a program focused on creative activities and artistic training. On May 10, workshops and workshops will be held, including a skateboarding workshop for women and children, in partnership with the ZN Association, from the North Zone of Manaus. The goal is to provide women and girls from the community with their first contact with the sport, especially those who do not live in the region and wish to participate. They can register using the Google Forms link available on @gqfestival, on Instagram.

This year's proposal, with the theme ‘Donas do Rolê’, seeks to reaffirm women's right to occupy urban and cultural spaces.

“We are talking about an international festival that strengthens urban art in the Amazon and at the same time moves the territory where it takes place. The idea is to create this network of female artists and encourage girls to see themselves in this place too. We want girls and women to be inspired, to understand that they have this skill, and to not give up along the way. Our role is to include, support and build this support network among women in the arts”, highlights Wɨra tini.

The event will also include sports activities, such as friendly soccer matches, DJ performances and graffiti workshops. With this, the festival seeks to integrate different artistic languages and mobilize the local cultural scene.

Grafitti Queens is contemplated by the Public Call Macro Notice No. 004/2024 – Cultural Projects, in the Hip-Hop category.

A pioneering magazine in Brazil

More than a graffiti festival, Graffiti Queens is a diversified project. An example of this is the creation of the Graffiti Queens Magazine, which aims to record and promote the work of women in urban art and focuses on being a source of research both in the country and internationally.

“The content we put in the magazine is images of artists' work. The topics are diverse, we have already talked about women's lives, the history of graffiti, and urban art festivals created by women. We launched the third edition of the magazine in Mexico, and we have projects from the North, Northeast, South, and Southeast, about women's work and projects that take place in these regions, so that people can learn about them and have this written document”, explains Wɨra.

The third edition of the magazine had the first graffiti photographer in the world, Martha Cooper, on the cover and in an exclusive interview for the edition. More details about new publications can be found on Instagram @revistagraffitiqueens.
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