LOS ANGELES – In response to the ice raids and the subsequent protests that started in Los Angeles last week, various art organizations have made statements in solidarity with immigrants and activists. On Monday, four art spaces located in the center of LA – the Japanese American National Museum, the Chinese American Museum, La Plaza de Cultura Y Artes and large versions – joint explanation The events of last weekend call a ‘manufactured crisis’.
“We resist the unjust massive deportations of immigrants and the unconstitutional presence of the army in our city,” is the statement. “We fully support the law of the community to collect peacefully and to make their voices heard. Although there can be individuals whose goal is to design violence and chaos, they are not the majority, and we do not want people to fear the center of Los Angeles. It is the heart of one of the most diverse cities in the world where everyone is welcomed.”
Others followed the example, including the Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC), a group devoted to the preservation of public art and social justice founded by Muralist Judy Baca. In one Explanation on InstagramThe group explained “relentless solidarity with our immigrant communities and added:“ We are shocked by the continuous attacks and rhetoric that try to dehuman and distribute […] Stay safe. You are not alone. We are with you. “
Destination Crenshaw, the ambitious public art project that unfolded in a historic black area of South La, also did not promise -repellent solidarity with people affected by the actions of the federal government. “Our heart is for every family that is confronted with injustice, every parent worried about the safety of their child and everyone who deserves to live with dignity, safety and peace,” the group posted InstagramAlso sharing a list of legal aid and immigration means. So did the Vincent Price Museum of ArtLocated in predominantly Latinx Monterey Park, east of LA.
In an e -mail statement on Tuesday 10 June, the Museum of Latin American Art (Molaa) In Long Beach, in the same way, “solidarity with our community – especially our immigrant neighbors and that affected by the current activity.”
“We confirm our dedication to inclusion, respect and the right of each individual to feel safe at the place they call at home,” the museum added. “We urge everyone to stay informed, to be vigilant and support each other with compassion and courage.”
Although influenced by the Evening clock imposed on the center of LAThe Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA) who are committed to “offering a safe space and a welcome place for people with all backgrounds and experiences.”
“We are in solidarity with those who peacefully protest against the unjust deportation of immigrants without papers and the unclutterable military presence in our city,” ICA added in a rack.
Hollywood House Gallery 839 has one direct profession On La Mayor Karen Bass, begged her to instruct LAPD to “arrest federal agents who violate the civil rights of Angelenos.”
“Legal precedent exists for local jurisdictions to keep federal actors responsible when they violate the state law or act outside of constitutional boundaries. If Bass will not act to protect its people, it will be complicit,” the gallery added, next to an image with the slogan “ice from LA.”
Although these statements come from mainly smaller and independent art organizations, there has been a noticeable silence so far from the larger art institutions of the city, including Lacma, Moca, The Hammer, The Getty and De Brede. (None of these settings responded to HyperallergicThe request for comments per speed time.)
In addition to explanations of support and indignation, other organizations have taken more direct action. Since the start of the year, the non-profit offers self-help images workshops for immigrant rights and it distributes the ‘Know Your Rights’ posters, also available for free download on their website.
“There is immediate action, but after that there is a constant need. How can we support the community further than this moment?” asked Natalie Godinez, executive director of Binational Art and Advocacy Group Art made between opposite sides (Amosion). This varies from a hub to distribute information, monthly fundraisers to support already established aid groups and to make contact with networks in Mexico to support people as soon as they are deported. “The spectrum of help is huge, from giving money, using our body, to knowledge generation,” Ambos founder Tanya Aguiñiga said Hyperallergic.
Artists have also given their support, created new work or in many cases the sharing of work that has been produced in recent years that emphasize the persistent and growing anti-immigrants rhetoric in the country. Patrick Martinez fell about 50 from Are signs Reading “Deport ICE” and “Then they came for me” in neon letters during last Sunday’s protest in the center of LA.
“It would be easy for me as an artist to compartmentalize all these catastrophes in the world that we are all witnessing my art career, but that’s not how I operate,” Martinez said Hyperallergic. “The two go hand in hand, when I make work, it is to represent the time in which we live.”
After the Seiu president David Huerta was arrested for the accusation of hindrance of immigration hells during a LA protest on Friday, Lalo Alcaraz renewed a painting of the Labor leader he had made, with the text “Free David Huerta” and “Show Ice La Puerta!” The trade union printed posters with the image, and that was it prominently present during a rally On Monday to call up the release of Huerta. (He was released later that day on a bond of $ 50,000.) “I hope it helped people feel competent to demand that David was released,” Alcaraz said Hyperallergic. “Images like this can also easily inform people that something is going on in the news in which they could and must be interested.”
A work of art that was made decades ago, but that was prominent in a large part of the recent tumult, is Barbara Kruger’s “Untitled (questions)“(1990/2018). The gigantic wall work that asks:” Who is outside the law? Who is bought and sold? Who is free to choose? … ‘And other questions about freedom, power and patriotism, was previously installed on the southern wall of Moca (now the Geffen Contemporary at Moca), and again painted on the north wall of the building in 2018. It served as a background for scores of photos of photos of photos of the police and Protesters of Honor of Honie, Eerie van Homie, Gary Leonard’s iconic photo From three national guards for the wall painting during the 1992 La Uprising. When asked if she was apparent that history seemed to be repeating herself, Kruger offered a blunt reaction. “No one should be surprised or shocked by this,” she wrote in an e -mail Hyperallergic. “And if they are, their failure has helped us bring us to this fatal and tragic moment. This is the end of something.”
Nadya Tolokonnikova was in the middle of her sustainable version Police state At Moca Geffen then the protests burst. The museum closed early on Sunday because of the unrest, but Tolokonnikova remained and continued her performance to an empty gallery. “I feel that this very tangible, visceral solidarity between people suffering from the police state in a part of the world where I come from – and here, in the US, where families are torn apart, mothers are arrested and deported while they pick up their children from school, children crying for help while their fathers are dragged,” she wrote, “she wrote,” she wrote, “” “she wrote,” she wrote, “she wrote,” she wrote, “she wrote,” she wrote away, “she wrote,” she wrote, “she wrote,” she wrote, “she wrote,” she wrote, “she wrote,” she wrote, “she wrote,” she wrote. “ On Instagram. As if they echo Kruger, she added: “I think the Western idea that history is inevitable to progress is an air mirroring. There is no guarantee for a better morning.”
Another work of art that was created just before last Friday’s raids were given an unexpected meaning in the light of what would follow. With ice and land, artist Kiyo Gutierrez A large-scale message built with the lecture “No one is illegal” on the banks of the LA River. Gutierrez received her MFA from the University of South California last month and was planning to stay in LA, but the tightening of the current administration of visa restrictions force her to return to her native Mexico.
“As if guided by a premonition, the ritual was performed last Thursday, June 5th, 2025, just one day before the devastating ICE raids in Los Angeles that tore families apart. The physical repetitive gestures required to compose the sign, like banging heavy bags of ice against the concrete, then delicately Yet Urgently Placing the Cubes Before They Melt, and Finally Gently Covering Them with Soil, Echo the Resilience, Care, and Ruthless Urgency that defines the immigrant experience, “she said Hyperallergic. “May artificial boundaries melt like ice under the sun, flow away with the currents of the rivers, and we should never forget that no man is illegal and no one should be criminalized to exceed ‘boundaries’ to stolen land.”
