Supporting the BLM Movement With Art

Life couldn’t be any more restless than it is now. The recent news of George Floyd and his unnecessary death is so sad and everyone is hurt. It’s 2020 and it’s time we all stick together and stand up for one another. White, yellow, brown, black, whatever color we are. Right now, there’s numerous organizations we can donate to provide support for the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Some of these organizations would be the Minnesota Freedom Fund, Reclaim the Block, Black Visions Collective, Unicorn Riot and more.

Other people, like artists, are showing support through their drawings, stickers, and enamel pins, etc. Although some of us may not have money to donate, we do have time that we can donate to support the movement.

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I Support the BLM Through Art

For me, I’ve decided I’d support the movement with donation commissions. From now until Wednesday, June 17th, anyone who donates $10+ to any organization related to the cause and sends me a timestamped screenshot of their donation will get a commission from me. This commission will be a simple animal / food / human artwork as a way of showing my thanks. I’m hoping this encourages people who can give, to give.

Other Artists In Support of BLM

There are so many other artists that are trying to use their art and their own shop to support the BLM movement. Some of them are listed below!

Alina – Shop Choobi

Alina is from California USA and has a very cute shop that reminds you that it’s okay to cry and let it out sometimes! Check out what she’s doing for the movement.

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[UPDATE! 📣 as of June 11, all choobi donations will be going towards the People’s City Council Freedom Fund, since BLC is no longer asking for donations.] For all of June, 100% of shop choobi proceeds will be donated to @blackvisionscollective, a Black-led, Queer + Trans centering organization whose mission is to organize powerful, connected Black communities and dismantle systems of violence. 💛 I will be donating at the end of each weekend and confirming receipts in my stories through out the month to ensure the funds are not just sitting with me! I struggled deciding to post this shop update during such a crucial time in which we want to uplift black voices. Please know that I am truly only reopening my shop because I had the update planned already + ready to go, and it did not feel right to me to not utilize possible funds from my small business to benefit causes and voices which I want to continue helping as much as I can! I will not be asking you all to post pictures of your orders like I usually do. Instead, I would love for you all to continue posting about the resources and movement which matters most right now, and will continue to matter for as long as we must fight. #shopchoobi #smallbiz #shopupdate #donations #blackvisionscollective

A post shared by alina✨ (@shopchoobi) on Jun 3, 2020 at 11:21am PDT

For the entire month of June, she will donate 100% of the shop choobi proceeds to Black Visions Collective, a Black-led, Queer + Trans centering organization whose mission is to organize powerful, connected Black communities.

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Friends know that #blacklivesmatter. Friends don’t tolerate racism of any kind. Friends are always trying their best to support those who need it, and learn what they can do to help. Be a friend! Everyone needs a friend, and we need you now! 💛 If you’re able to, please take the time to donate funds towards @reclaimtheblock, @mnfreedomfund, or any other organization that is fighting to provide aid and resources. I will try to provide some links on my Twitter for other places. I have already personally donated to Reclaim the Block, Freedom Fund, and the George Floyd Family gofundme. I would love to help use our little community to donate more funds, so if you DM me a receipt of a $25+ donation, I will draw a little doodle as a thank you. I will try to do as many as possible! My art isn’t inspiring or beautiful. It won’t change the world. But the purpose of Choobi and my art has always been to try to provide comfort and relief and happiness to all the friends who choose to engage with it. I hope these silly little drawings of your choobi friends makes you smile, and if it doesn’t, I hope that just knowing that there are people who wholly support good and just action in the world exist. Try your hardest to take care of yourselves – you have to take care of yourself in order to fully help others. Use your voice and do what you can. Please stay safe.

A post shared by alina✨ (@shopchoobi) on May 29, 2020 at 1:11pm PDT

In addition, if you donate $25 or more to one of the organizations and send her a screenshot, she will doodle something for you!

Dazz – DazzshopCA

Dazz is a talented artist from Canada who draws many cute fan art pieces but also draws original round bois.

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Open worldwide & shipping costs will be covered. 1 Winner will be annouced on June 14th to win every single pin design I've made! Only one entry per person. Really wanted to do my part to encourage people to join and support black lives matter. I've made personal donations already and I highly encourage anyone who reads this to do what they can to support this cause. As I mentioned before there will be resources and links in my bio for more information, thank you 🌼

A post shared by dazz (*･ㅅ･)✧ (@dazzlingthing) on Jun 3, 2020 at 8:16am PDT

She is having an enamel pin giveaway where you can get an entry to win all of the pins she’s ever made if you send her a screenshot of your donation.

Miri – Noristudio

Miri is a great artist who draws simple and aesthetically cute guinea pigs, capybaras, and other adorable animals!

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Thank you! We have raised $326.5 for Black Girls Code! Hi all, I decided to take down the black square post as it might block out useful BLM related resources. I am still here, listening, learning, doing researches, trying to figure out what is the best way to help. I will continue to share BIPOC-owned businesses, artists and other anti-racism and BLM resources in my highlighted BLM story. On the other hand, 100% of my June profit on second pins (imperfect pins) will be donated to @blackgirlscode . ❤️ #secondsale #pinsale #shopforgood #givingback #pinlover #pinclub #pincollectors

A post shared by Noristudio | Pins & Stickers (@noristudio3o) on Jun 3, 2020 at 10:17am PDT

Her seconds enamel pin sale for the entire month of June will be donated to Black Girls Code, an organization whose goal is to increase the number of women of color in the digital technology space by introducing girls 7-17 to Computer Science. “Seconds” refer to slightly imperfect products but the imperfections are hardly noticeable to most of us! I love supporting artists by purchasing their seconds pins.

Lara – Capybalara

Lara is an illustrator from the US who loves capybaras and Animal Crossing! She’s having donation commissions!

Send her your donation screenshot and she’ll draw you a cute animal, plant friend, pokemon, or AC character!

Vivian – Sugar Cubed Studios

Vivian is an artist from Texas, USA and has a large variety of cute enamel pins, bags, apparel, and more!

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I usually pride myself as being someone who is eloquent with her words. However, in the light of current events, I've been left rather speechless and unsure of how I can gather my thoughts. I've probably deleted what I wanted to say here several times over without knowing if I'm adequately getting my point across. . . Like many Asian Americans can probably relate, I was raised to keep my head down and be quiet about any social injustices that might go on in America – that we should appreciate, despite being people of color – that we are luckier in how society views us. But as I grew older, I grew more restless, thinking that there's not much I can do as just an Asian American individual. Sure, I can say what I want to say online or to my friends, but in the back of my head, there's always that nagging thought of what difference will this make? What changes can I make? How can I help turn the narrative? What can I do to be a more effective individual in today's world? . . I've been thinking over the past few days of what I can do and how I can utilize Sugar Cubed Studios and all the followers that have come to support me over the years, and how I can help spread the word on what's going on in our country and support those who might need it. . . I thought back to a pin I had designed sometime last year. It's not a design that particularly wow'd people. It didn't steal the limelight, nor did it garner too much attention. And that's fine. I designed it for me, and for those who have history with it. Which brings us to the Akai Ito pin that you see on my grid. . . Now, if you don't know the lore, akai ito, otherwise known as the Red Thread of Fate, is said that everybody is destined to be linked by a red thread to their fated person. For me, that story always revolved around love, but lately, I've been thinking that it doesn't have to just be love. We are all connected, one way or another, by this invisible thread – whether we're family, we're friends, we're lovers, or we're acquaintances. The moment we enter each other's lives, we're bound. . . [Okay, so there is a text limit to how much you can type on Instagram, and apparently, I wrote a novel. Rest in comments.]

A post shared by Vivian (@sugarcubedstudios) on Jun 1, 2020 at 9:39am PDT

All the proceeds for the “Akai Ito” pin as well as 25% of the proceeds from other sales will go towards NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund.

Leo – Kittynaut

Leo is having a fundraiser pin where all proceeds go towards blacklivesmatter.com! In one day, they raised $3,299.76! Here’s the cute and magical pin that fights for love and justice.

These are just a handful of artists among MANY who are using their art to support the BLM movement. It’s different but I love that we are able to use our skills and talents to support a very important matter today! If you know other artists who are contributing their skills and shops to the cause, feel free to list it in the comments below!

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