#IShareHerPower
The #IShareHerPower campaign aims to raise awareness through street art about the impact of climate change on the daily lives of people in warmer climates and lower income countries. To do this, we will focus the campaign on the struggle of women climate activists for a better future in different countries. As part of the campaign three professional artists - Essi Ruuskanen, Maria-Liisa Leonidov, and Lex Zooz - created three major street art works in Tallinn.
The campaign was created in cooperation with the NGO Mondo and the NGO Lasnaidee. AkzoNobel supports the creation of the works with paints and Ramirent Eesti with lifts. The campaign is funded by the European Commission and the Estonian Centre for International Development - ESTDEV.
Essi Ruuskanen (Finland) · Nõmme Hobby School, Vikerkaare 10, Tallinn
Essi Ruuskanen's painting is inspired by the work of Chadian environmental activist Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim: "I chose Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim because she has worked to highlight indigenous knowledge alongside modern scientific approaches and combined the two to create climate solutions. She also has a strong feminist voice and I have great respect for her work. The climate crisis and the collapse of biodiversity are the most important challenges of our time. These activists are doing all they can to save our shared planet. We should all stop making excuses and do the same."
Maria-Liisa Leonidov (Estonia) · Kungla 65e substation, Tallinn
Maria-Liisa Leonidov's work is located near Kalamaja park, where the old, tired substation building got a new look. Maria-Liisa was inspired by Leydy Pech, a Mayan indigenous representative and beekeeper whose work led to a ban on the cultivation of genetically modified soy beans in seven Mexican states.
Lex Zooz (Estonia) · Valukoja 5, Ülemiste City, Tallinn
Lex Zooz was inspired by the environmental activist Wangari Maathai: “I chose the topic of forest protection as the theme of my work because it is a subject that is close to my heart and it is also an important issue in Estonia. Studies have already shown that deforestation is not being controlled and could have serious climate consequences for our country. Wangari Mathai almost single-handedly stepped forward 50 years ago, when there were no conservation organizations, to protect African forests from global industrial and oil companies that were destroying Kenya and the entire African ecosystem. Knowing the example of such a woman, I think people should be a little ashamed of how careless we are about nature, pretending that there is no problem. After all, you run the risk of irreversibly losing something without paying enough attention to any of the problems."
Video recap of Lex’ work here.
Photos by Marek Metslaid, Ülemiste City, Ita Puusepp, Polina Lyasheva.
