Shamsia Hassani
Shamsia means sun, and Hassani, Afghanistan’s first female street artist, shined her light in our fair city in late August. A towering image of a woman musician graces the side of the office building at 2451 Willamette Street, located across the parking lot from Capella Market. As per her traditional style, the female character does not have a mouth but is holding a large keytar. In the mural, the instrument serves as a voice for the woman, empowering her and females everywhere to speak through the arts and use the instruments to “play her voice.” Hassani says she is “trying to play her voice for the city, for people, to have a … positive message for the people.”
