New Artsline Spotlight Artist Celebrates Women

Valley Metro announces that artist Heather Freitas is the newest Artsline Spotlight Artist for the 2021 spring/summer season. Artsline celebrates creativity, culture and community throughout the rail corridor.

Freitas arrived in the Valley to attend ASU’s Herberger Institute of Art where she began her journey to becoming a full-time artist. After selling hundreds of private pieces, she wanted to infuse communities with color and inspiration through her public art. Freitas is representing Artsline because of her desire to connect with people and enhance lives through her artwork.

Freitas’s colorful artwork highlights women trailblazers throughout history. Each female leader is adorned with a flower crown complementing her achievement. There are 19 women featured across several art pieces on light rail and the large-scale mural wall at the Roosevelt/Central Ave light rail station.

This display of influential women aligns with Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day. “Women are so powerful and I really want to uplift their voices. There’s Rosa Parks, Judy Garland…all of them offer something unique because we’re all unique individuals,” Freitas said about the inspiration behind her work.

Support women throughout Women’s History Month. Now through March 31, Freitas is selling her Artsline artwork and all proceeds benefit the Fresh Start Women’s Foundation. For more information on the fundraiser visit bit.ly/2ObXs53.

For more information about Artsline visit valleymetro.org/artsline.

Learn more about the 19 women featured on Artsline and the flower associated with them.

• Susan B. Anthony– leader of the women’s suffrage movement, first female citizen to be depicted on U.S. coinage
  • Sunflower– she adopted this flower as a symbol for woman’s suffrage
• Josefina Carrascoso Franco– President of the Mexican Blue Cross
  • Gentiana cruciata– known as the Blue Cross
•  Marie Curie– first female to win the Nobel Prize in 1903 for her pioneering research on radioactivity and the first person to win a second Nobel Prize
  • Begonias– represents knowledge and deep thoughts
• Amelia Earhart– first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean
  • Heather Lavender– represents her solitude in the sky
• Aretha Franklin– first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987
  • Rosa ‘Rock & Roll’– a red and white Grandiflora rose cultivar, developed in the United States in 2006
• Heather Freitas– self-portrait
  • Lotus– a symbol of fertility, creation and purity
• Judy Garland– first woman to win Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards
  • Floribunda rose– beautiful orange-yellow flower named for the actress
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg– fighter for women’s rights and associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
  • Purple orchids– a symbol of justice, prudence and wisdom
• Frida Kahlo– first Mexican-artist with work purchased by an internationally-renowned museum
  • Dahlias– as she was often seen wearing
• Mary Eliza Mahoney– first African American to graduate from an American school of nursing
  • Chamomile– relaxation and calming effects symbolize healing properties
• Ellen Ochoa– first Hispanic woman to go into space
  • Dahlias– symbolizing commitment and discovery (name of her ship)
• Sandra Day O’Connor– first woman associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
  • Black-Eyed Susan– represents justice
• Rosa Parks– United States Congress has called her the “First Lady of civil rights”
  • Pink roses– her favorite flower and one commonly used to pay tribute to her
• Sally Ride– first American woman in space in 1983
  • Orange zinnia– first flower to be grown in the zero gravity of space
• Betsy Ross– American upholsterer who was credited with making the first American flag
  • Rose– official flower of the United States
• Marcenia Lyle Stone– also known as Toni Stone, was the first woman to play big-league professional baseball
  • Hyacinth– named after a Greek boy and represents sport or play
• Jumko Tabei– first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest
  • Allium Mount Everest– official flower of Everest
• Harriet Tubman– first woman to lead an armed, military operation in the United States
  • Poppy flower– important symbol to honor military in May
• Madam C. J. Walker– America’s first female self-made millionaire
  • Alstroemeria– symbolizes wealth, prosperity and fortune