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Sign this PetitionWho is Nicole Schulman, Winner of Artists Against ICE?
MoveOn members voted for Artists Against ICE earlier this year with the goal of amplifying powerful artwork as a vehicle to inspire and reach our members to take action to protect their communities and neighbors. Members voted on their favorite artwork.
We are so excited to finally share the winning design, “Liberty Against ICE,” by Nicole Schulman.
Schulman was born and raised in New York City in the 1970s by a couple of Jews from the Bronx. She is mostly known for her political cartoons published with the World War 3 Illustrated collective, editing “Wobblies!: A Graphic History” and murals facilitated by the Groundswell Community Mural Project NYC. Currently she is a full-time union high school art and graphic design teacher. Schulman also paints, designs enamel pins under the name of Gussie Grubman, buys too many records, and watches too many horror films. She is currently living in Brooklyn with her husband and cat.
Read on for more about Schulman’s journey as an artist and her inspiration behind “Liberty Against ICE.”
What is your artist journey, or how did you become an artist?
My mother was a commercial artist and I have been drawing since I could hold a pencil.
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind Liberty Against ICE?
As the descendant of immigrants, the wife of an immigrant, and a teacher of immigrants I am angered and disgusted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and their campaign of terror. I reimagined [the Statue of] Liberty married with the symbol of migration, the monarch butterfly.
What do you think is the role of art in politics and in social movements?
Bertolt Brecht said it better than I could: “Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.”
What do you hope people will take away from Liberty Against ICE?
An inspiration to action. Being part of a functioning democratic society is not a spectator sport.
What is one of your favorite examples of artivism from any time in history to the present?
I am a bit biased, but my art collective World War 3 Illustrated magazine. WW3 was founded in 1979 by cartoonists Seth Tobocman and Peter Kuper, and carried on by great activist artists like Sabrina Jones, Mac McGill, and Tom Keough. Each, roughly, annual issue focuses on specific political and social issues. I joined in 1998 and am part of the editorial board today.
What are some creative ways people can use or display art to share their message and values?
I’ve always been a fan of street art and community murals. We are constantly bombarded by corporate advertising and the public has the right to claim our own visual space in public.
You can now order your own art print of “Liberty Against ICE” from MoveOn’s merch store, as well as order a sticker pack of finalists’s pieces. Every purchase is a direct contribution toward our work to get ICE out of our communities.