In a world falling apart, creativity can be a gasp of air. For many I’ve talked with, they have clung to their artistic expression as a means of clinging to their sanity, and cannot part ways with it.
In my conversations with Chicago jazz trumpeter Millie Ahearn, she described the earlier days of her gender fluidity, attending jam sessions in a dress and full beard.
“It was an ‘I dare you’ kind of thing,” she told me. I feel these art pieces are much the same.
There has also been a quiet debate over the appropriateness of such absurdity and pageantry, while government forces continue to escalate violence to the point of killings in the streets. A kind of “reading the room” problem. Context and the type of action, rallies versus direct action for instance, have seen different arts at play, but not always.
From the hyper-simple, to the hyperbolic, this is a personal photo collection of art at the protest, in defiance of a world falling apart.
A protester in a gas mask glares at a police vehicle with its lights on. The protester holds a sign: “”NO ONE’S ILLEGAL ON STOLEN LAND,” with an arrow pointing down towards the ground. The police vehicle is part of the “Unified Command” at the Broadview ICE Staging Area/de facto detention center. In the background are protesters with their faces covered and wearing protective equipment such as goggles and helmets. Behind them all is a barbed-wire chain link fence with posters and flyers taped to it by protesters. 10/4.
Protesters in protective equipment improvise a defensive formation minutes before an attack from federal agents with chemical weapons at Broadview. The plywood boards are fastened with rope handles to be used as shields, and are painted with anti-fascist imagery. It wasn’t apparent who brought the boards, in keeping with the day’s pattern of mutual aid and decentralized organizing. (Left) a depiction of the Statue of Liberty torch; (right) “FUCK THE LAW.” 9/19. LINK TO ARTICLE
A protester in an inflatable chicken costume hobbles past a line of parked media vehicles towards the Broadview ICE facility in the far background. They are followed by an Illinois State Police (ISP) car. 10/10
A small brown dog peaks over the shoulder of the protester holding them to look at the camera. The protester is wearing an A-frame sign: “JUSTICE YES – NO ICE.” In the background, protesters line the road in front of a Downers Grove Hampton Inn/Homewood Suites to protest the presence of federal vehicles in the parking lot, of which they would be seen over subsequent nights. 9/7. LINK TO ARTICLE
Graffiti near the sidewalk walls of the Chicago River near Trump Tower: “FUCK ICE,” followed by a depiction of a middle finger and an exclamation mark. 6/14. LINK TO ARTICLE
Ald Jesse Fuentes (26th) speaks at the third CATA “No Trump, No Troops” rally and march, speaking on her experience being handcuffed and detained temporarily by ICE agents. Behind her is a large, >20-foot webbed protest sign: “NO TROOPS IN OUR STREETS.” 10/8.
Rows of various buttons in support of Starbucks Workers United at the screening of the union documentary “Partners” at Film Row Cinema. There are gay pride, trans pride, and anti-ICE variants. 11/5. LINK TO ARTICLE
A protester writes on the street with sidewalk chalk directly in front of the Broadview ICE facility, in full view of federal agents on the roof with pepper ball launchers. 9/19. LINK TO ARTICLE
“NAZI FUCKS STAY OUT” written in sidewalk chalk directly in front of the Broadview ICE facility. 9/19. LINK TO ARTICLE
A marcher in winter clothing, amid hundreds, holds up a sign with the colors of the Mexican flag: “STOP ETHNIC CLEANSING.” Part of an anti-ICE march in Little Village. 2/8. LINK TO ARTICLE
A shirtless protester stands atop a car, holding a double-sided neon-green sign: “I FUCKED 2 OF YOU ON GRINDR…(pretty sure).” They are pointing the sign at federal agents on rooftop overwatch of the Broadview ICE facility. 9/19. LINK TO ARTICLE
Crystal Gee, wearing a keffiyeh as head covering, holds a sign during an anti-ICE march in Pilsen: “BLACK + BROWN SOLIDARITY – IF THEY COME FOR YOU IN THE MORNING, THEY WILL COME FOR ME THAT NIGHT!! -JAMES BALDWIN” 6/8. LINK TO ARTICLE
A woman, whose sister works as a librarian, holds a sign depicting Godzilla attacking library stacks: ‘HANDS OFF OUR LIBRARIES.” At the “Hands Off” rally and march at Daley Plaza. 4/5.
A protester wearing a luchador mask and a Mexican flag as a cap holds up a yellow sign: “NO HUMAN IS ILLEGAL,” followed by the word “ICE” crossed out. At the first “No Kings” rally and march at Daley Plaza. 6/14. LINK TO ARTICLE
A protester in a face mask and rainbow sweater sits by the Daley Plaza fountain while writing in their notebook. They are sitting by several wearable signs, one of which reads: “HOW DARE YOU.” At the “Hands Off” rally and march. 4/5.
A donut mockingly hangs bait-style off a CCSO barricade at the Harvard St approach to the Broadview ICE Staging Area/de facto detention center. Members of the Northern Illinois Police Alert System’s Mobile Field Force (NIPAS MFF), clad in riot gear and weaponry, stand along the driveway. 10/10.
A protester dressed as the Statue of Liberty is arrested by local Broadview police Broadview ICE facility. Moments before, the costumed protester and another in black bloc were pulled out of the designated protest zone and over the concrete barricades. 10/17.
A person in a wheelchair with physical disabilities smiles while wearing a sign: “DISABLE TRUMP & MUSK,” at the “Hands Off” protest at Daley Plaza. 4/5.
News sketch artist Isabelle Brourman illustrates ongoing protests at the Broadview ICE facility. 10/4.
Two loose leaf papers are taped to the inside of a window in a Pilsen neighborhood: “JUNE 2, 2025: AT 8:30AM, OUR NEIGHBOR WAS KIDNAPPED BY ICE + CPD IN FRONT OF THIS BUILDING. THEY WERE PUSHED INTO AN UNMARKED DODGE DURANGO VAN. CHICAGO IS A SANCTUARY CITY.” 6/8. LINK TO ARTICLE
A protester wears a headwear art piece depicting a rocket/bomb firing downward. Inside the bomb is a depiction of a dead Palestinian child in rainbow pajamas, lying in a pool of blood. During anti-genocide protests on the Magnificent Mile partly-led by USPCN. 6/14. LINK TO ARTICLE
A protester writes on the back of their sign: “QUEER AS IN FUCK ICE; QUEER AS IN FUCK THE POLICE.” Preparations for the OCAD and GLN contingent of the Chicago Pride Parade. 6/29.
A protester in a Spider-Man mask wielding a Kermit the Frog puppet takes part in a rally outside the Broadview ICE facility. They were later seen entertaining children among the crowd. 10/17.
A protester with a sign takes part in a USPCN march: “UKRAINIAN JEWISH TRAUMA THERAPIST with SNACKS for FREE PALESTINE.” 6/14. LINK TO ARTICLE
A panel from a manga during the first CATA “No Trump, No Troops” march in The Loop: “If you ask me, the White House can go screw itself.” 9/6.
Graffiti on the concrete barricades outside the Broadview ICE facility: “EVERYTHING WORTHWHILE IS DONE TOGETHER.” 10/17.
(Right) An art piece depicting a bloodied guillotine and severed Trump head contrasts with (left) a city billboard advertising the Sears Tower observation deck: “Best Views of Chicago.” During the first “No Kings” rally and march in The Loop. 6/14. LINK TO ARTICLE
A protester in a leather jacket and keffiyeh holds up a sign: “MY GRANDPA FOUGHT IN WORLD WAR II FOR THIS!?” During the first “No Kings” rally and march in The Loop. 6/14. LINK TO ARTICLE
A protester wears a sign at Daley Plaza: “They’re Eating THE CHECKS! They’re EATING THE Balances!” During the “Hands Off” rally and march in The Loop. 4/5.
A protester holds up a sign at Daley Plaza: “STILL PISSED ABOUT the J6 PARDONS!” During the first “No Kings” rally and march in The Loop. 6/14. LINK TO ARTICLE
A protester holds up a sign during a healthcare worker protest outside the Broadview ICE facility: “ABOLISH CANCER – Support Healthcare and Research…not tyranny” The letters “I-C-E” are highlighted in blue. 12/6. LINK TO ARTICLE
A protester in a costume depicting themselves as a bloodied Statue of Liberty, complete with broken tablet and torch, wears a sign: “BETRAYED.” During the third CATA “No Trump, No Troops” rally and march in The Loop. 10/8.
Graffiti on the concrete barricades outside the Broadview ICE facility: “FUCK ICE.” A chainlink fence pattern overlays the image, while police lights shine in the background. 10/4.
A homemade wooden shield, painted like an American flag and with a glass-covered viewport, is held by a protester at the 25th St approach to the Broadview ICE facility. The words “WHEN TYRANNY BECOMES LAW REBELLION BECOMES DUTY” is written on the front. Along the sides: “IF YOU CAN READ THIS STAND UP FOR YOUR COUNTRY.” 10/3. LINK TO ARTICLE
A protester holds up a sign: “LUIGI TIME,” featuring a depiction of Luigi from Super Mario Bros holding a pistol and pointing it towards the viewer. At the “Hands Off” rally and march at Daley Plaza. 4/5.
A protester holds up a sign: “I FEEL LIKE PREY.” At an anti-ICE protest in Pilsen. 6/8. LINK TO ARTICLE
Protesters hold up signs: (Right) “[Alderman, 15th] RAY LOPEZ IS A TRAITOROUS PIECE OF SHIT;” (Left) “GOV. PRITZKER: ORDER ISP TO ARREST ICE! LEGALLY, YOU CAN DO IT!! FUCK ICE.” At the third CATA “No Trump, No Troops” rally and march in The Loop. 10/8.
A protester with vocaloid character Kasane Teto defacing a pink US flag, demonstrating on behalf of queer rights. “We love Teto, and I love America,” they proclaimed. At the “Hands Off” rally and march at Daley Plaza. 4/5.
A protester in an inflatable dinosaur costume and helmet holds up a sign behind the barricades of the Broadview ICE facility: “Your ICE COSTUMES LOOK FUCKING RIDICULOUS.” 10/17.
A protester with a full-head dinosaur mask, respirator, helmet, and “No Kings” sign removes their mask to observe police movement at the Broadview ICE facility. 10/17
An anti-genocide protester holds up a 20-foot Palestinian flag. At a march held after the first “No Kings” march on the Magnificent Mile partly led by USPCN. 6/14. LINK TO ARTICLE
A protester in a Star Wars Clone Trooper helmet holds up a US flag attached to sign pole: “Some Clones RESISTED ORDER 66!!! Will YOU Help Save The Galaxy? Or will you BOW Down To The Empire??!!” At the first “No Kings” rally and march in the Loop. 6/14. LINK TO ARTICLE
A protester wears a prop rigging of an infantilized military tank while holding up a sign: “SOME OLD ORANGE GUY WITH A TINY DICK SAID HE WANTED TO SEE TANKS IN THE STREETS.” At the first “No Kings” rally and march in the Loop, taking place at a similar time to Trump’s military parade in DC. 6/14. LINK TO ARTICLE
A depiction of a crying wojak (left) and a chad (right) graffitied on the concrete barriers of the ICE Broadview facility. Anti-ICE messaging is covered among the snow, leaving it a blank template. 12/6. LINK TO ARTICLE
A protest pair holding signs comparing the US’ detention centers to historical concentration camps at the “Hands Off” rally and march at Daley Plaza. One of them (left) is dressed as a Holocaust prisoner, complete with an upside blue triangle badge the Nazis used for stateless people. Their signs detail Nazi and American concentration camps, comparing them to ones in El Salvador. 4/5.
A protester holds up a sign at the 25th St approach to the Broadview ICE facility: “ICE HATES BIG BOOTY LATINAS” 10/10.
A protester holding a small megaphone in a frog onesie, standing atop the concrete barriers, wags their finger at an unmarked ICE vehicle leaving the Broadview facility. Fellow protesters also admonish the vehicle. 10/24.
An elderly protester sits while showing off their sign: “NOW YOU’VE PISSED OFF GRANDMA.” At the “Hands Off” rally and march at Daley Plaza. 4/5.
Street chalk in the designated protest zone of the Broadview ICE facility during a healthcare worker protest: “Healthcare is a RIGHT!”; “let health care in!” 12/6. LINK TO ARTICLE
A protester holds up a neon-pink sign: “FASCISTS CAN OLIGARGLE DEEZ NUTS.” At the first “No Kings” rally and march in the Loop. 6/14. LINK TO ARTICLE
A protester, wearing a bandana mask and Mexican flag as a cape, holds up a makeshift Mexican flagpole and a sign: “VIVA LA RAZA.” At the first “No Kings” rally and march in the Loop. 6/14. LINK TO ARTICLE
Protesters in protective equipment improvise a defensive formation minutes before an attack from federal agents with chemical weapons at Broadview. The plywood boards are fastened with rope handles to be used as shields, and are painted with anti-fascist imagery. It wasn’t apparent who brought the boards, in keeping with the day’s pattern of mutual aid and decentralized organizing. (Center) “NO BORDERS NO NATIONS;” (right) “CHINGA LA MIGRA” 9/19. LINK TO ARTICLE
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