Can Instagram Art Change The World?
Monica Ahanonu and Ariel Sinha know the power of a sharable image. So they are Making art with revolution in mind.
When Ariel Sinha shared an illustration she had created in tribute to Breonna Taylor with her Instagram following of less than a thousand friends in May, she says, “It was a way for me to process my own anger and grief. I really just needed an outlet.” The image was reshared and quickly moved beyond her small circle. Celebrities posted Sinha’s image, and the Chicago-based artist and freelance illustrator suddenly found herself with thousands of new followers. The original post is closing in on 76,000 likes. If you’re on Instagram or Facebook, the image of Taylor set against a backdrop of pink with white flowers very likely appeared in your feed. “I had no idea the work would resonate with people in the way that it did,” she says, noting that it was a bittersweet way for her work to gain wider recognition.
Artist Ariel Sinha. Photography by Azuree Wiitala
So, it didn’t come as a surprise when Sinha was contacted to create a piece of art for The Last Draw, a new initiative that is trying to harness the power of art to win the White House. In fact, The Last Draw’s mission spoke directly to Sinha’s belief that everyone can use their particular talents towards their chosen cause. “I think it is good for everyone to think for themselves and ask what they are good at, and apply it to the greater good to instigate change,” she says. As an illustrator, Sinha turned to activist art, but a chef might make food to feed protestors or volunteer at her local nonprofit battling food scarcity or a writer might help an organization with its communications.
“I think it is good for everyone to think for themselves and ask what they are good at, and apply it to the greater good to instigate change.”
The Last Draw provided artists no parameters for their work except that it be pro-Biden. “I always see Joe Biden—he is always represented with his big, pearly white smile,” says Sinha, “I wanted to convey a more serious tone.” Sinha also wanted to do something unabashedly patriotic in “an Americana palette” of red, white, and blue. Sinha often layers her portraits over backgrounds of flowers and chose an anemone, a flower native to her midwest home for Biden.
Joe Biden for The Last Draw by Ariel Sinha
Sinha believes there is some magic in the combination of art and activism, citing the March trilogy, Representative John Lewis’s autobiographical graphic novels about the civil rights movement, as an example of art and activism meeting in an out-of-the-box visual media. The Last Draw’s founders also believe in the power of art to sway hearts and minds. Inspired in part by A Citizen's Guide to Beating Donald Trump, by David Plouffe, Obama’s former campaign manager, four Bay Area women dreamed up their idea for an art-meets-social media third-party effort to help elect Biden. In the book, Plouffe discusses how important third-party activism, signs, and content would be in persuading voters. However, all the third-party content Miranda Jones, one of The Last Draw's founders could find was negative. “We saw a ton of anti-Trump merch, but we saw a lack of pro-Biden art,” says Jones, who also found the official Biden merchandise lacking. “When I went to order Biden lawn signs, all of his swag was pretty uninspiring. I thought to myself, ‘They’re not making it easier,’” says Jones. It was this craving for inspiration that led Jones and her co-founders, Chloe Warner, Leigha Weinberg, and Megan Bouchier, to start their organization back in April when it became clear Joe Biden had secured the Democratic nomination. The four Bay Area women wanted to find ways to get themselves and other voters excited about Biden as a candidate—and the run-of-the-mill political merch his campaign was offering supporters wasn’t their idea of visual motivation. “We need something like the Hope poster,” says Jones of the iconic poster Shepherd Fairey created for the Obama campaign in 2008.
Artist Monica Ahanonu
Monica Ahanonu also knows a thing or two about viral imagery. She was the third artist tapped for the The Last Draw, and found herself in the social media spotlight this spring when her portrait of George Floyd depicted against a background of the words “I can’t breathe” was shared tens of thousands of times. Politics and the issues of the day had long been a thread through Ahanonu’s art (she recalls sharing pro-Obama art back in 2008), but interestingly, when asked if she considers herself an activist, Ahanonu said no. Instead she points her friend Blair Imani as her idea of a true activist. “I think of an activist as someone who focuses their actions on political or social changes on a broader scale,” she says, noting that the majority of her work is as a commercial artist for hire.
Ahanonu confesses that she had been procrastinating on creating her piece for The Last Draw and her deadline was looming when Kamala Harris was announced as Biden’s choice of running mate. The double portrait came quickly together. “I wanted it to have lots of color and a celebration type feeling,” says Ahanonu of the double-portrait in her signature style.“I want people to feel excited about the possibility of change in the White House,” she say “I want them to see the potential of what Kamala and Joe can bring.”
Biden and Harris for The Last Draw by Monica Ahanonu
Ahanonu believes that meeting people where they are is more likely to sway them to activism. She points out, “So many people are on their phone, it’s the quickest way to get the information to them. Instead of a very intense read, people are good about breaking it down in small bites,” she says. “We can help them take them to the next step.” Likewise, Ahanonu encourages others to seek out inspiration for their activism through art, citing the films of Ava DuVernay as an example of entertainment that can fuel deeper understanding and even action.
“So many people are on their phone, It’s the quickest way to get the information to them. instead of a very intense read, people are good about breaking it down in small bites.”
Like Ahanonu, The Last Draw’s founders had a hunch that Instagram art had more power than we might suspect. When they conceived their plan to commission and drop a new piece of art on Instagram weekly, they Last Draw's founders hoped the images might give Biden that extra push of support he needs to win the election. But they needed more than just amazing art to help spread their message. With over 400,000 followers on Instagram, Portland-based illustrator Lisa Congdon was just the type of modern-day messenger The Last Draw needed, so they were thrilled when she was the first artist to sign onto the project. When a second female artist committed next, the Last Draw’s Founders made a conscious decision to choose women artists for the final two slots, aiming for geographic, stylistic, and personal diversity amongst the artists, with the final line-up of Sinha, Ahanonu, Lisa Congdon, and Maya Hayuk.
As The Last Draw enters its next phase, you will likely see Sinha or Ahanonu’s art popping up IRL. All of The Last Draw artwork just debuted as lawn and window signs. You can head over to The Last Draw to purchase a lawn sign or simply pay shipping and handling for a free window sign. Folks in swing states can even sign up to receive free poster packs of 100. “I truly believe art is power,” says Jones.