Wonder Women 2021: An illustrated ode to society’s superheroes.
Wonder women 2021: From Malala Yousafzai and Mother Teresa to Jacinda Ardern and Frida Kahlo, there is a myriad of empowered women, activists, artists and feminists who have shaped the foundation of our modern world. With this decade marking a powerful oscillation of feminist mobilisation, International Women’s Day 2021 serves as a key reminder of how women across the world are making positive waves in our communities on an everyday basis.
Local UK-based artist and illustrator, Nicola Mascarenhas, was inspired by these superheroes around the world – both well- and lesser-known women who have influenced our thinking in some way, shape or form throughout history. Printed on 175 gsm size A3 card, she hand-designed a colourful graphic illustration, entitled ‘Wonder Women’ to celebrate the role models who have influenced the modern feminist movement.
‘Wonder Women’ puts faces to the names of 42 phenomenal females from across the globe, representing a mere handful of the significant contributions made by women in our everyday lives. You may recognise the notable faces of Princess Diana, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Florence Nightingale, Marie Curie and Rosa Parks, but can you distinguish modern heroes, such as Tarana Burke – the activist who started the hugely influential global #MeToo movement? Or do you recognise Sacagawea, whom at the age of 16, contributed to the Lewis and Clark Expedition?
Delve into a vast ocean of art, music and writing, and discover the dynamic voices that comprise the powerful feminist movement which exists today, thanks to the Wonder Women of the world.
With International Women’s Day falling six days before Mother’s Day, this inspiring print makes the ideal gift for the wonder woman in your life. 20% of the profit made from the sale of every print will be donated to Period Poverty (periodpoverty.uk)
Available to order A3 prints online here for £25.00:
About the Artist
Currently based in South East London, illustrator and mother of two, Nicola Mascarenhas, studied art at Camberwell College of Arts and UCE before training in portraiture at The Princes Drawing School and Lavender Hill School. Using a combination of both traditional and contemporary materials and techniques, she expresses the beauty and joy of her surroundings – from inspirational people to the marvel of nature – in the hope that it provokes thought and inspires positivity. Nicola has illustrated for Unilever, Ford, BBC and Esteé Lauder.
See more work by Nicola Mascarenhas
Editor’s Notes
Featured in the print, from top left:
1. Junko Tabei, Japanese mountaineer
2. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, leading voice for gender equality, women’s interests, and civil rights and liberties
3. Tarana Burke, activist who started the Me Too movement
4. Marie curie, her contribution to finding treatments for cancer
5. Jayaben desai, leader of the strikers
6. Manal al Sharif, Saudi women’s rights activist
7. Frida Kahlo, feminist painter
8. Gail bradbrook, British environmental activist for Extinction Rebellion.
9. Amariyanna Copeny, youth activist
10. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Belarusian human rights activist and politician
11. Sacagawea, at age 16, met and helped the Lewis and Clark Expedition
12. Serena Williams, former no1. Tennis singles, feminist.
13. Greta Thunberg, environmental activist
14. Kate sheppard, women’s suffrage movement in New Zealand
15. Somaly Mam, Cambodian anti-trafficking advocate
16. Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist for female education & the youngest Nobel Prize laureate
17. Rose McGowan, activist
18. Gloria Steinhem, American feminist journalist
19. Rosa Parks, American activist in the civil rights movement
20. Indira Gandhi, first and only female leader to India
21. Jane Austin, Novelist
22. Mary Portas, retail consultant changing British high streets
23. Queen Nzinga Mbande, powerful political figure
24. Jacinda Aardern, New Zealand prime minister
25. Wangari Maathai, Kenyan social, environmental, and political activist
26. Florence Nightingale, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing
27. M.I.A., activist, song writer marked with evocative political and philosophical commentary
28. Germaine Greer, major voices of the radical feminist movement
29. Loujain al-hathloul, Saudi women’s rights activist
30. Audre Lorde, American writer, feminist, and civil rights activist.
31. Princess Diana, charity work
32. Emmeline Pankhurst, British political activist, suffragette
33. Sonita Alizadeh, Afghan rapper and activist who has been vocal against forced marriages
34. Jane addams, American settlement activist
35. Mother Teresa, saint.
36. Malalai Joya, Afghan activist
37. Bernardine Evaristo, British author and first British black woman to win Booker Prize
38. Huda Sha’arawi, Egyptian feminist leader
39. Raffi Freedman, American transgender rights activist
40. Harriet Harman, British politician
41. Eleanor Roosevelt, US First Lady and Activist
42. Pauli Murray, American civil rights activist
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