Muslim Solidarity Rally in Times Square

Thousands of people gathered in Times Square last Sunday to say "Today I'm a Muslim Too". It was a beautiful event, with speakers of all creeds - Hindu, Jewish, Christian - who denounced the Muslim Ban and the xenophobic rhetoric of the government. The message was one of unity and equality: "Make America for Everyone". Check out @ArtistsForDemocracy on Instagram to see drawings of this event by my fellow artists.

#resist #nobannowall

LGBTQ Solidarity Rally NYC: A Liberal Diversity Blizzard

This past Saturday, February 4th 2017, my fellow @ArtistsForDemocracy and I were at yet another rally, this time in solidarity with the LGBTQ community. All minorities feel threatened under the new administration, and the LGBTQ rights are as fragile as ever. Many of the rally speakers talked about being refugees, persecuted in their native countries for having different gender identities. So their confluence of sexual orientations, gender identities, countries of origin and immigration or refugee statuses made them that much more vulnerable in present-day America. However, Senator Chuck Schumer, Comptroller Scott Stringer and other officials, who attended this rally, repeatedly vowed to keep New York a sanctuary city. The mood at the rally was most positive and optimistic.

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."

Openly gay New York State Senator Brad Hoylman, who had swastikas etched on his house after the appointment of Bannon. The Senator called everyone to text the word "TAXES" to the 41411 number, as a way of casting a vote for disclosure of taxes for presidential candidates.

Portraits of more speakers. One of them is a Jewish gay man who fights for Muslim rights. Oliver from Nigeria, who was persecuted for being a gay activist there, found his refuge in America; he pleaded with us not to preach to the choir, but to those who support Trump.  And another speaker, whose name I, sadly, didn't catch, said that being called a liberal snowflake is appropriate, because no two snowflakes are alike, and together we create a diversity blizzard. I loved that metaphor.

Rally and March for Muslims and Allies in Foley Square

"Human Beings Will Never Be Illegal" 

Rally under the Triumph of the Human Spirit Sculpture in Foley Square.

The Rally for Muslims and Allies, organized by a well-spoken 17-year-old Hebh Jamal (below), had a crowd of more than a thousand tonight. One of the rally speakers pointed out that the resistance movement is the present-day civil rights movement of the young generation. The high-school and college contingent in the crowd represented by loudly cheering. It was awe-some to once again feel the energy of the city - people coming together and rising in peaceful protest. Tomorrow, Yemenese-run bodegas, that comprise 90% of the delis in New York, will show their resistance by shutting down 12pm-8pm. So many gatherings and rallies are happening, basically, every day, that I hope we, the people, don't run out of steam. It's only been 2 weeks of the new administration, but it feels like 10 years.

Hebh Jamal under the Triumph of the Human Spirit Sculpture

"Nothing in the world 

is more dangerous 

than sincere ignorance 

and conscientious stupidity."

- Martin Luther King Jr.

Freedom Tower was in attendance as well.

Marching towards the Immigration Court

"WHOSE STREETS? OUR STREETS!"
"BUILD A FENCE AROUND MIKE PENCE!"
"THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!"
"WHAT DO WE WANT? JUSTICE! WHEN DO WE WANT IT? NOW!"
"NO BAN! NO WALL!"
"SAY IT LOUD, SAY IT CLEAR: REFUGEES ARE WELCOME HERE!"
Chanting crowd on Broadway

26 Federal Plaza building that houses the Immigration Court.

The great thing is that people - especially young people - are getting involved like never before. Women are running for local governments, volunteering in communities is on the rise, donations are pouring in for advocate groups like ACLU. Below, I'm pasting something that circulated on FB the other day, for posterity.

For everyone who did something, small or big, your efforts have been successful. Because of you:
1. Federal hiring freeze is reversed for VA (Veteran Affairs).
2. Court order Partial Stay of the immigration ban for those with valid visas.
3. Green card holders can get back in country.
4. Uber pledges $3M and immigration lawyers for its drivers after #DeleteUber trends on Twitter.
5. Affordable Care Act enrollment ads are still going to air.
6. The ACLU raised $24 million over the weekend (normally $3-4 million/year).
7. HHS, EPA, USDA gag order lifted.
8. EPA climate data no longer scrubbed from website.
9. More people of different career/religious/economic/race backgrounds are considering running for political office than ever before.
10. MOST importantly, since we live in a participatory democracy, the people are engaged.
While more is needed, sometimes you have to celebrate your wins.
Stay vigilant, but also take self care seriously. Activist burnout is a thing. Marathon, don't sprint.

Refugees Are Welcome Here

 

Saturday, January 28th, 2017, 6-8pm

Emergency Immigration Detention Rally 

JFK Airport, Terminal 4, Arrivals.

The newly sworn-in president had signed yet another executive order late on Friday. It's just now coming to light that his intent was, indeed, to make it a Muslim Ban (read article.) The phrasing of the executive order, however, was about a travel/immigration ban from 7 Muslim-majority countries. Interestingly, none of the countries that actually produced terrorists who affected USA were on that list (read article.) Trump also halted USA's acceptance of Syrian refugees.

The outrage at the discriminatory ban, as well as 11 detained people at the JFK airport, who were en route as the travel ban was announced, prompted massive crowds of protesters to flood JFK's terminal 4 on Saturday. By the time I got there for the 6pm rally, all the major news outlets had stationed their vans, cameras and reporters in the parking lot of terminal 4 arrivals. 

I held back tears, standing in the crowd that was chanting "Let Them In".

My family landed at JFK on July 1, 1994. We were refugees, fleeing anti-Semitism in Russia. The military coup of 1991 in Moscow convinced my father to make the hard decision to immigrate. He didn't want to leave the country where his parents are buried. It took my parents 3 years to file all the paperwork, stand in lines in bitter cold for rounds of interviews at the embassy, sell belongings and the apartment, quit jobs and say goodbyes. 

The most vulnerable I've ever felt in my entire life was when we deplaned at JFK. There was nothing to return to. Future was unknown. We had 2 bags and money from the sold apartment. And we had family expecting us on the other side of the customs.

And then I tried to imagine what it is like to be a refugee whose home/city/country is bombed into none-existence, no money, no relatives to rely on. I also tried to imagine what it feels like when you deplane and are told that you can't pass the customs. You are no longer welcome, and it doesn't matter that you have a green card or a visa. There's no turning back, but there's no going forward either. And what about all those who were in the midst of making arrangements to immigrate? It takes years to prepare, where each step is progressively more irreversible. 

 

An older couple stood next to me in the crowd. They both had silk white sashes with blue Yiddish writing. I asked them what it says. "A Better and More Beautiful World", they replied. 

 My friend and artist Audrey and I finally managed to find each other in the sea of people, and proceeded to draw next to each other, despite our frozen fingers. You can check out her beautiful art blog here.

Then I saw this young woman in a head scarf. She was filming the chanting protesters on her phone. Her kids were in the car next to her, peaking through the open windows - they also chanted. In their little high-pitched voices. " No Hate, No Fear! No Hate, No Fear!". She told me they're from Egypt, landed in JFK 16 years ago. I felt our kinship: both lucky to be here. 

The evening ended with the news of the federal judge granting emergency and temporary stay to detainees. 

Multiple airport protests erupted all over the country in response to Trump's immigration policies.

 ...

 Sunday, January 29th, 2017, 2pm

"We Will End the Refugee & Muslim Ban"

March & Rally

Battery Park, NYC

 The following day, there was a rally and a march in Battery Park, with unprecedented and electrifying crowds. Literally everyone held either a sign or a flag; some wore pussy hats or Lady Liberty crowns; some even had messages written on their faces. So many parents brought their kids: babies in harnesses, toddlers riding the shoulders, elementary-schoolers proudly holding hand-made signs...

The speakers at the rally repeatedly denounced Trump's refugee and immigration policies as unconstitutional and illegal, reiterating that his executive order discriminates based on the country of origin and religion.  

Senator Cory Booker passionately reminded us that "The opposite of love is not hate: it's apathy."*  

The New York City mayor Bill de Blasio assured: "We will not let the beacon to be put out by Donald Trump."

At the end of the rally, as the crowds shifted, Audrey and I finally found our art friends Sunil and Veronica (here is her incredible reportage illustration site), and together we marched.  On the way out of the Park, we passed a praying Muslim woman. She knelt on a little rug, with Lady Liberty directly behind her, guarding the harbor. One of the rally speakers reminded that the Statue of Liberty was originally a Muslim woman: 

"Bartholdi’s concept morphed from “a gigantic female fellah, or Arab peasant” into “a colossal goddess.”  -more on that here, Smithsonian.com

"No One Is Free When Others Are Oppressed"

The march terminated in Foley Square. At some point, we marched directly towards the Freedom Tower, with Lady Liberty behind us, adding our voices to the choire: "No Ban! No Wall! No Ban! No Wall! No Hate! No Fear! Refugees Are Welcome Here!"

It's far from over... There are other marches planned this week, next month and several months from now. We are all shocked, appalled and so ready to fight back, to protect the values that make America the greatest experiment in human history, the melting pot, the beacon of hope, the land of the free. 

*
"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of beauty is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, but indifference between life and death."- Elie Wiesel

 #artistsfordemocracy #resist

NYC Emergency Rally for Muslim and Immigrant Rights

I love the spirit of my city! In response to President Trump's executive orders on building the Dakota pipe line and the Mexican border wall, on immigration ban from 7 Muslim countries and on suspended acceptance of Syrian refugees, a big emergency rally was organized in a matter of hours in Washington Square Park. As I was approaching the park, a deafening roar of the crowd was radiating several blocks out from under the Washington Square Arch. People were responding to key speakers - law students, ACLU, elected city officials, congressmen/women, Jewish and Muslim-Americans - who spoke against these executive orders and called to civil resistance and action. The hand-held signs and chants of the crowd around me summed up New York attitude towards the new administration: "We are better than this", "Resist", "Donal Trump is not America, We are America", "Make love, not walls", "We are one", "Refugees welcome". And here is Veronica Lawlor's report on the event, in words and drawings. Lastly, since I foresee many more protests in the future, here's a good article with tips and legal rights of peaceful protesters.

Women's March on Washington

Just returned from the Women's March on Washington in DC - it was an exhausting 24-hour-long day, but what a day it was! How exciting to take part in history, and march with fellow artists alongside 500,000 people, who came out to let our new administration know that we - the people - are watching, that women's rights are human rights, that diversity is our strength, that racism is unacceptable, that we need equality for all, and that we are stronger together. It is said to be the biggest peaceful protest in the history of America-well over 1 million people marched in all major US cities. The event was global: hundreds of women's marches took place around the world, in solidarity. This is unprecedented. Positive. Powerful. Hopeful. It will take social and political activism on our part to actually turn these slogans into reality. But stating the intent is the first step in the right direction. You can see more art from this day by my fellow Dalvero artists on Instagram, Facebook and their personal blogs under #womensmarchdraws.

InsiderArt Video Feature

I'm excited to share this short video glimpse into my ceramic-making process by InsiderArt. Drawing is usually the first step to everything I make, regardless of material, although it sometimes takes me months to actually make that which is on paper. Drawing of an idea is a proclamation of intent to the universe, and somehow it works! As my art mentors say, our tastes are always ahead of our abilities, and that's a good thing: keeps us, makers, busy and striving for more!

Drawing Music :: Performances Up Close

Sometimes a dream job comes along and it makes you feel oneness with the universe. It happened to me this autumn, when Princeton University Concerts commissioned a reportage of the "Performances Up Close". Here are some of the drawings from Histoire du Tango: Grammy-award winning violin phenomenon Augustin Hadelich and Spanish guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas.
 

Concert hall with the audience seated on the actual stage, to create most intimate experience.

And tonight, I had a sweet surprise in the mail: a holiday card from Princeton University Concerts with the concert hall reportage on the cover.

Happy Holidays!