Artwork

During the Flood

By Donald “C-Note” Hooker, K94063 (B5-136).

If We Act

By Brenna Quinlan, Quote by Rob Hopkins

Really Really Free Market

By Jimmy Dunson w/ Mutual Aid Disaster Relief

Crisis expands our imaginations around what is possible

By Molly Costello

Mutual Aid Disaster Relief

By Ash

Estefanía Rivera Cortés for AgitArte

Ayer se descubrió uno de los almacenes llenos de suministros que el gobierno estaba escondiéndole al pueblo desde el Huracán María. Aunque ya se sabía que esto estaba pasando, la evidencia, la cantidad de suministros, los guardias armados y el plan de salir de esta ayuda de manera clandestina indigna y nos llena de rabia. “Si el gobierno las aguanta, el pueblo las libera” por Estefanía Rivera Cortés para AgitArte.

This past Sunday, one (out of 8) warehouses FULL of supplies were discovered (by the people) which the government was hiding since Hurricane Maria. Although it was already known that this was happening, the evidence, the amount of supplies, the armed guards and the plan to withhold the aid in a clandestine manner, fills us with RAGE. “If the government withholds the aid, we, the people free it” by Estefanía Rivera Cortés for AgitArte.

Sugeily Rodríguez Lebrón for AgitArte.

“Mientras miles de personas viven en campamentos y refugios, es inaceptable que cientos de viviendas estén vacantes, particularmente las viviendas que obtuvieron los bancos mediante ejecuciones de hipoteca. En el centro de esta historia se encuentra el Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, una de las instituciones con la mayor cantidad de ejecuciones de hipotecas en la isla.” Cita de: El Terremoto y el Banco Popular: Cómo el Banco Más Grande de Puerto Rico Obstruye una Recuperación Justa por Abner Dennis. “Los bancos tienen casas sin gente, el pueblo tiene gente sin casas” por Sugeily Rodríguez Lebrón para AgitArte.

“While thousands of people live in encampments and shelters, it is unacceptable that hundreds of homes are vacant, particularly the homes that banks obtained through foreclosures. At the center of this story is Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, one of the institutions with the highest number of foreclosures on the island.” Quote from: El Terremoto and Banco Popular: How the Largest Bank of Puerto Rico Obstructs a Just Recovery” by Abner Dennis. “Banks have houses without people, the community has people without houses” by Sugeily Rodríguez Lebrón for AgitArte.

¡Oye Gringo! Wear a mask of go home

Arte por Javier Maldonado O’Farrill @jmofarrill para AgitArte Al no poder controlar el aeropuerto como frontera principal, la entrada de turistas provenientes de Estados Unidos, principal foco actual de la pandemia, ha seguido en aumento. Para colmo, muchos se niegan a usar la mascarilla creyéndose por encima de las regulaciones locales y guiados por campañas de desinformación lideradas por Donald Trump. Nuestros sacrificios no pueden ser en vano. No son bienvenidos. El virus es la colonia.

After 2 months of extreme quarantine in Puerto Rico in which we managed to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus, we are facing the highest rate of positive cases and hospitalizations. With no means to control the airport as our main border we are left unable to stop the entry of tourists from the United States, the current epicenter of the pandemic. To make matters worse, many refuse to wear the mask believing themselves to be above local regulations and guided by disinformation campaigns led by Donald Trump. Our sacrifices cannot be in vain. They are not welcome. The virus is the colony.

Mutual Aid

by Nando Alvarez

I’ve been studying the work of Charles White, a true master, and a humanist. His work always moves me very deep, since the first time I saw one of his pieces. I made this piece as a partial study of one of his, of course, mine by any means reach his mastery but, I hope it honor’s the spirit of solidarity and hope for the human race. Only Mutual Aid and Solidarity will allow us to create new ways of organizing a more just society for all of us.

Collective care is the future

by Georgia Murphy

Artist site
Instagram @cactusandspoonprints

Artist Statement
Covid-19 has further exposed the failings of capitalism and the current system for protecting people, and has shown that it is down to us all to care for each other, share resources and knowledge and protect the most vulnerable in society. In line with this, my piece is inspired by the practice of mutual aid, and is a call to action for a new kind of society based on collective and community care.

Although a new system might feel far away right now, alternative frameworks have always existed; Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour have practised mutual aid and collective care for centuries as a means of survival in response to years of colonisation and white supremacy. As a result of Covid-19, it is clearer than ever that we need to focus our collective attention on breaking down systems of oppression and exploitation. We need to grow the existing, and new social support networks into something bigger, whilst also ensuring they are not co-opted and whitewashed but remain intersectional and true to their radical and revolutionary roots.

What I love about printmaking is its ability to produce bold and striking imagery; often leading to its use within social movements and as a catalyst for social change and action. I hope that this print will inspire people to imagine what a different future could look like, and encourage them to take action to make our society better for everybody, not just during the crisis, but also beyond it. If you have access to a printer feel free to print my piece out and put it up wherever you can, or even better, make your own!

Pandemic As Portal

The artist can be reached via Instagram @kill.joy.mall

What Can We Grow From Crisis

by Pete Railand

Artwork by Jonah Mociun Mutual Aid Disaster Relief

#takecareofeachother #mutualaiddisasterrelief

Artwork by David Lee Nishizaki Mutual Aid Disaster Relief

In South Carolina, with floodwaters rising after the onslaught of Hurricane Florence, two women being transported to a mental health facility in the care of the Horry County Sheriff’s Office were stolen from us when officers bypassed warning barricades and drove directly into floodwaters. The officers saved themselves, climbing to the van roof to await rescue, leaving Wendy Newton and Nicolette Green to drown beneath their feet inside the van. #climatechange #florence #mentalhealth #wendynewton #nicolettegreen #violenceagainstwomen #acab

Artwork by Ricardo Levins Morales

In this piece, people stand up against a tidal wave of environmental destruction. “Environmental justice is our cry of defiance against the onslaught of oppressive toxins and toxic oppressions that threaten to submerge our homes.” The costs of this tidal wave are borne most heavily by the poor, Indigenous people, and people of color. Air, water, and people all need protection. (Yes, this illustration is a spinoff of the famous “Great Wave” print by Japanese artist Hokusai.) #environmentaljustice #justrecovery

Artwork by Emily Simons

“I took a call from Dey and Jorge shortly after the storm. I had been worrying about them and was relieved to hear their voices, though heartbroken to hear the stress and exhaustion and overwhelm in between their words, which were encouraging me to create a map to show and clarify the political moment of post-Maria reality. From media coverage of the storm and its aftermath, I pieced together several core truths revealed by Hurricane Maria and the supporting realities that uphold them, focusing mostly on disaster capitalism, the context of US imperialism in the Caribbean, and the US-imposed economic austerity that has wreaked havoc in Puerto Rico in recent years. After several rounds of candlelit feedback from folks in Santurce, and many days of conversation with the team that would be taking a much deeper dive by making a decolonial scroll in the months to come, I set down some quick illustrations to those truths. Mapped radially, these truths require the viewer to flip the image (or themselves!) upside down to grasp the full picture.” -Reflection by Emily Simons #disastercapitalism #decolonizepuertorico #seacabaronlaspromesas #papelmachete #agitarteculturalworks

Artwork by Amicah Bazant in Collaboration with Forward Together Agitarte

As National Lawyers Guild said “Following years of colonialism and the intensified assault of austerity in the past several years, Puerto Rico is suffering from the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria and the massive impact of climate change….We demand the immediate cancellation of Puerto Rico’s debt. We also join the many calls from Puerto Rico for the abrogation of the Jones Act, which requires that only U.S.-flagged ships can dock in Puerto Rican ports. We also demand that Congress make an emergency allocation of billions of dollars to support immediate relief and aid for Puerto Rico. The U.S. official response to the destruction in Puerto Rico has been racist, colonialist and shamefully inadequate. The official climate change denial of the Trump administration and the U.S.’ lengthy record of failing to address climate change in any substantive manner, especially when combined with grinding austerity and deep racism, has blood on its hands in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean islands.” #releasetheaid #stoptheembargo #cancelthedebt #decolonize #noalgobiernomilitar #seacabaronlaspromesas #promesapaquien #whenwefightwewin #papelmachete #agitarteculturalworks

Artwork by Javier Maldonado O’Farrill, Agitarte | Papel Machete

Faced with the collapse of the State and the abuses of FEMA in post-Maria Puerto Rico, we have organized ourselves in self-managed spaces around the Island known as Centros de Apoyo Mutuo (Mutual Support Centers). In addition to providing support to overcome urgent needs in the communities, we promote their empowerment and create discussion spaces to generate critical thinking and the understanding that we are facing a political disaster that is even more dangerous than the natural disaster. In CAM, the following 3 main functions are organized: Social dining rooms where we serve food prepared for free. Collection centers where we collect local and diaspora aid to distribute in the communities according to need. Permanent Solidary Brigades to open roads by force of ax and machete; and support in agriculture and housing reconstruction. Some CAMs also offer the services of popular health clinics, cultural activities, community garden workshops and education for children. We are located in Caguas, Río Piedras, Mayagüez, Humacao, Utuado, Lares, Naranjito and Old San Juan. We are not in a Shock State. We are organizing to combat the onslaught of disaster capitalism and its henchmen. Help us with your donation!

Art by Nicole Marie Burton

More at Ad Astra Comix.

Art by Monica Trinidad

Artwork by Sarah Quinter, Just Seeds

In early November 2013, the strongest storm ever recorded to have made landfall hit the Philippines, resulting in thousands of deaths and mass displacement and destruction. #climatejustice #typhoonhaiyan