Art activism: Stories behind murals, street paintings and portraits created in protest

As a collective, artists illustrate and impact history. As individuals, they have unique stories behind their art.

As thousands of Americans lend their voices to protests, artists are letting their brushes speak of racial reckoning.

They’re coloring streets with the words “Black Lives Matter.” They’re spray-painting walls with memorial images in rainbow hues. They’re illustrating fists, flowers and faces and sharing them on Instagram. They’re acting on an urge to create, spurred by the pain of George Floyd’s death and the global pandemic.

Although the term that many use for this kind of work, artivism, feels new, the idea that artists also serve as activists and leaders of cultural change has a deep-rooted history.

“Artists have always been at the lead of protest, resistance and hope in Black communities and other marginalized communities across the country,” says Aaron Bryant, the curator of photography and visual culture at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

As a collective, artists illustrate and impact history. As individuals, they have their own unique stories behind their art.

Thomas ‘Detour’ Evans and Hiero Veiga’s George Floyd mural

Hiero Veiga, 32, absolutely did not want to be a memorial artist a few weeks ago.

“We see a lot of horrible things happen, and I myself am a victim of police brutality,” Veiga says. “I know too many cases.”

But Veiga ran into fellow graffiti artist Thomas “Detour” Evans, who was working on a mural of George Floyd, a Black man who was suffocated under the knee of a white police officer.

Evans, 35, encouraged Veiga’s change of heart.

“We’re the visual historians of current times,” Evans says. “I tell a lot of artists, you have to document what’s happening today. I advocate for more artists to use their work to create messages and talk about what they’re going through in society.”

Veiga, moved by Evans’ words, joined him at the wall. Veiga’s realistic style combined with Evans’ colorful palette made for a breathtaking and breath-giving mural: Their  image of Floyd looks as though he’s coming back to life.

The two collaborated on additional vibrant murals and started the crowd-funded project “Spray Their Name,” a movement to beautify walls and honor the memory of Black people across the country.