Art, gender, student movement:

experiences with occupation and mural painting

Abstract

This article consists in a report of experiences with two artistic works on the diversity of women at the University for International Integration of the Afro-Brazilian Lusophony (UNILAB). Initially, experiences with paintings and drawings on the walls – known as mural painting – took place during the UNILAB’s occupation, in 2016, occasion in which an artistic intervention was conducted in the teachers’ room. Through encouragement and support from other students, the authors of this article produced their first panel – which means, according to our reading, the UNILAB’s face in its proposal to interconnect cultures and diversities. Consequently, our second panel emerged in 2018, in the form of a course conclusion monograph (trabalho de conclusão de curso – TCC) to achieve a Licentiate Degree in Sociology. From the perspective of gender equality struggle, we emphasize the importance of politically appreciating and strengthening feminist artistic expressions in their struggles and resistance, with a view to achieving greater social justice and social equality – contrary to all forms of historical domination of men over women.