#AAPISolidarity Billboard Campaign: Fight hate with beauty

We want to celebrate and recognize the AAPI community in all its brilliance and beauty. And there is truly so much to celebrate.

From the vibrant cultures, to the numerous accomplishments made in this country, AAPI are inseparable from American history. Yet with the outbreak of COVID-19, continuous violence has arisen towards the Asian and Asian American community.

Faced with all the overwhelming grief, anger, and injustices, it is easy to forget the beauty of this country. But May is AAPI heritage month.

We fight with words, we fight with actions, and in this case, we fight with art.

On April 14, numerous artists came together and launched the @forfreedoms #AAPISolidarity billboard campaign to stand with Asians, Blacks, Indigenous, and all other communities of color.

Several of them are listed below. These billboards have gone up across the country and hopefully, with the voices of artists, they will change minds.

1 Mel Chin (@mel.chin)

“While attacks have been on the rise, so have tensions around the place of Asian Americans in the context of other communities of color.”
Made by Mel Chin, the message is clear: solidarity to visualize mutual support and interconnected struggles for all people of color.
2 Christine Sun Kim (@chrisunkim)

Made by Christine Sun Kim, this piece was based on Homer Simpson’s note to himself that read “IOU one emergency donut.” The billboard is supposed to read as the USA writing an IOU to itself.
3

This text was made from the response to the question, “What are your hopes and dreams for SF Chinatown?” An art piece from her Alive and Present project, it explores the idea of belonging in the Chinese communities of San Francisco.
4 Chella Man (@chellaman)

Chella Man is an artist, an author, and a director. Known for sharing his experiences as a deaf, transgender, genderqueer, his work speaks for itself.
5 Carol Lim (@carollim)

On standing hand in hand against hate...
6 Anna Rogacheva (@rogacheva_illustration)

Created as a response to the #drawadottogether project, this piece of art honors asian talents, including brands, models, and influencers.

Other artists include Maia Ruth Lee, Erin Yoshi, Nicole Kang, Shruti Ganguly, Gala Porras-Kim, and Taiji Terasaki. Go to @hankwillisthomas to find out more!