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Artists For Democracy

Artists for Democracy formed on January 21, 2017 when a group of reportage artists united to experience and document the Women’s March in Washington, DC. Before the group had a name, those in the group had individually drawn political events ranging from campaign speeches and rallies, to Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter protests.

When Julia Sverchuk launched our Instagram account, we recognized that vulnerable groups — people we loved — would come under attack from this new administration. We feared the erosion of democratic values, institutions, and norms. After almost a year, we think we were right to fear it. When the truth is under attack, we believe that the immediacy and authenticity of reportage art is our most powerful response.

All the artists in our group practice the art of reportage. Many of them are part of the Dalvero Academy in NYC.

Alex Charner • Audrey Hawkins • Carly Larsson • Evan Turk • Julia Sverchuk • Kati Nawrocki • Margaret Hurst • Melanie Reim • Sara Dilliplane • Todd Rawson • Veronica Lawlor

Alex Charner Saturday, February 18, 2017. Washington Square Park (marched to Union Square). Rise and Resist and Gays Against Guns’ New Orleans-style Jazz Funeral for Democracy (press: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/sarah-larson/a-jazz-funeral-for-the-american-presidency )
February 4, 2017. LGBTQ Solidarity Rally, Greenwich Village, NYC. Saturday, February 25, 2017. Place: Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, NY. Health Professionals Protest Outside Congressman Dan Donovan’s Office (press: https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/40/9/br-donovan-doctor-protest-2017-03-03-bk.html )
Saturday, June 3, 2017. Foley Sq, NYC. New York March for Truth (press: http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/03/us/march-for-truth-protests/index.html ) top

Audrey Hawkins January 29, 2017 Muslim Ban Protest Drawn on location at Battery Park in New York City, at the protest just after 45 signed an executive order halting all refugee admissions and temporarily barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries. This was Trump’s first attempt at the Muslim Ban, and the response from New York City was swift and unequivocal.
February 26, 2017. Queer Trans Dance Party-Protest. Drawn on location during a protest against Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ rescinding of an Obama administration memo that protected transgender students in schools with binary and gendered bathroom and locker room facilities. The LGBTQ+ community responded with music and defiant joy in the face of discrimination just outside Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan.
March 25, 2017. Not Fake News. Drawn on location at a rally and march from Bryant Park to the headquarters of the New York Times in support of the free press.
Audrey Hawkins April 29, 2017. 100 Days. Drawn on location in midtown Manhattan outside Trump Tower during the 100 Days of Failure protest, marking 45’s first 100 days in office. top

Carly Larsson Carly Larsson November 2016. Portland, OR. Drawn on location during the protests shortly after Trump was elected.
Carly Larsson December 2014. Foley Square, NYC. Millions March NYC protest against a grand jury’s decision not to indict the officers responsible in the murder of Eric Garner.
Carly Larsson December 2014. Downtown Manhattan. Millions March NYC protest against a grand jury’s decision not to indict the officers responsible in the murder of Eric Garner. top

Evan Turk Evan Turk February 4, 2016, New York City. LGBTQ Solidarity Rally. "Resist"
Evan Turk February 4, 2016, New York City. LGBTQ Solidarity Rally. Movements in Intersection.
Evan Turk February 4, 2016, New York City. LGBTQ Solidarity Rally. ACT UP, FIGHT BACK. top

Julia Sverchuk February 21, 2017. Not My President’s Day Rally. Trump International Hotel and Tower at Columbus Circle, NYC, is surrounded by the protesters chanting "Not My President".
February 4, 2017. LGBTQ Solidarity Rally, Greenwich Village, NYC. Director of NYU Islamic Center started his speech with "Our Jewish Brothers and Sisters..." He condemned the president for omitting Jews in his speech on the Holocaust Remembrance Day. He ended with "You don’t have to be Jewish to stand for Jewish rights. You don’t have to be a woman to stand for women’s rights. You don’t have to be gay to stand for gay rights. You don’t have to be Muslim to stand for Muslim rights."
February 17, 2017. General Strike in Washington Square, NYC top

Kati Nawrocki February 20, 2017. Female protester in a hijab raising her fist at the "I am a Muslim" rally in Times Square. Her hijab was an American flag, and her blue jeans were painted with stars.
February 20, 2017. Female protester in a colorful scarf at the "I am a Muslim" rally in Times Square; she filmed all of the speeches, and had tears in her eyes the entire time. The people in the background are the many faces of Islam in NYC: A traditional Muslim family, Jewish and Christian allies, people waving American flags and wearing Yankees caps
January 21, 2017. Signs and protesters at the "Women’s march" in Washington, D.C. The atmosphere was one of kindness, joy, and determination. I used Pop-art graphics because there were so many symbols in the sea of signs. top

Margaret Hurst Margaret Hurst February 4, 2017. Stonewall Inn, NYC. Chuck Schumer, New York State Senator, at the LGBTQ Solidarity Rally.
Margaret Hurst February 4, 2017. Stonewall Inn, NYC. LGBTQ Solidarity Rally
Margaret Hurst January 21, 2017. Washington D.C. Women’s March on Washington. top

Melanie Reim January 2017, Washington DC. Women’s March on Washington. The extraordinary power of women and beyond in outrage and response to the inappropriateness of the new American president. I was followed by, interviewed and featured by NHK Japan Television.
February/March 2017, Upper West Side, NYC, outside Trump Hotel. "Obama Cared" The outrage continues, as the racist ban on immigrants is attempted, but not upheld.
March 2017. The massive rally in Times Square, NYC. "I Am Muslim Too" Everyone was Muslim on this day. Scores of people unite to support Muslim as the debate over the ban and undocumented immigrants continues to dominate the news and the streets top

Sara Dilliplane January 29, 2017. Copley Square, Boston, MA. Pro-Immigration Rally. Thousands of protesters gather in response to President Trump’s Executive Ordered anti-Muslim/immigration ban. A Muslim Call to Prayer was called from the steps of the historic Episcopal Trinity Church.
March 2017. Massachusetts State House, Boston. Universal Healthcare Rally. Protesters speaking up against President Trump and Republicans’ initial proposals to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).
March, April 29, 2017. People’s Climate, National Mall, Washington DC. Collective calling for an immediate, unified climate movement at the nation’s capital. top

Todd Rawson May 4, 2017 Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, NY, NY New Yorkers protest Trump as he visits the Intrepid with tombstone signs for their country’s healthcare. Emergency protest was organized after it was reported that Republicans had enough votes to pass an Obamacare repeal bill in the House that week.
January 21, 2017. Washington D.C. "Where You’re Really From" Women’s Rights Marchers walk toward the National Mall the morning after President Trump’s inauguration, slowly joining the larger "Women’s March on Washington" crowd and carrying signs voicing their beliefs.
January 21, 2017. Washington D.C. "Won’t Back Down" After the speeches, Women’s Rights Marchers took to the streets of the Capitol with renewed energy, stopping traffic to the beat of drums and chants. top

Veronica Lawlor February 2017, Times Square, NYC. Rally "Today I am a Muslim Too!" This rally was created in support of the Muslim population of the US, and specifically of NYC. Protests and rallies of support for Muslim citizens and immigrants have sprung up all over the country as Donald Trump repeatedly tries to push his so-called travel ban through the courts.
February 3, 2017. JFK International Airport. Muslim Prayer Jummah. On-site reportage of the protest against the Muslim ban and Jummah Prayer service outside of terminal 4 of John F. Kennedy airport in NYC; during the days after Trump’s first attempt at the Muslim ban. There was a lot of chaos, and many people stranded at the airports while the courts heard arguments agains the ban. This prayer service was intended to lend support for the Muslim immigrants as well as to condemn the policy. Among the speakers was a woman who had escaped to America from the Nazis during WWII.
February 2017: Jazz Funeral for the Presidency of the United States, drawn on location in Washington Square Park, NYC. In honor of the American holiday of President’s Day, the activist group Rise and Resist staged a mock New Orleans style funeral for the American presidency, complete with a casket, mourners dressed in period costume holding upside-down photos of past presidents, singers, poets, and jazz musicians. After a brief gathering and ’service’ there was a jazz parade around the park and up Broadway. top