The Impact of Protest Art

Before the pandemic, Samantha Wendel was a bit stuck. The Austin artist wanted to drop any corporate freelance work they were doing out of necessity and focus on their passion for music and film posters, but there was no timeline.

Then the pandemic came. COVID-19 upended the way Wendel lived and worked. All of their corporate work was suddenly gone and they had all the time in the world for their own work.

In the summer of 2020, when civil unrest erupted across the country after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Wendel used their artistic talent and graphic design prowess to design and sell T-shirts and protest art. Any profit they made was donated to organizations that benefit the Black community, like The Black School, GLITS and The Marsha P. Johnson Institute.

“I wanted to make sure that money went back into that system I was pulling from,” Wendel said. “It was important for those designs, especially those very specific protest designs, for those to go back to what inspired them to begin with.”

Wendel knew that, even though bail funds nationwide were being flooded with donations, certain parts would be overlooked. The Black School teaches and promotes the history of art in Black history. whereas GLITS and The Marsha P. Johnson Institute support the Black LGBTQ+ community who are, as Wendel put it, “underserved and under-recognized.”

Wendel’s hyper-detailed and psychedelic designs carry themes of radical change and Black empowerment. The imagery is sometimes juxtaposed with the message, with a hand holding a daisy on a piece reading “THE AMERICA YOU KNOW HAS NEVER EXISTED.”

The money Wendel contributed to Black causes isn’t the only good they’ve done. Their influence over the artist community in Austin is not lost on them.

“When I started doing this, I didn’t see as much of it from other designers, donating proceeds and work and doing protest art,” they said. “I think when people see others doing it, they’re like, ‘Oh, I should contribute as well,’ and any influence in that way that I’ve had is enough for me.”