Trying Times Call for Creative Solutions: How a Local D.C Artist is Taking Post-Election Action
AYUSHI DAS: It’s been a few months since the 2024 election, when Americans elected Donald J. Trump into office for his second term. His re-election has brought forth conversations in left-leaning circles on what this means for minority groups moving forward, with a new emphasis on community organization and collective action.
For local DC artist Maggie O'Neill, community organizing began long before the election. O'Neill has been making art for 20+ years, contributing to the vibrant DC art scene. But in 2022, the overturning of Roe v. Wade became a catalyst for O'Neill’s artistic journey.
“Women in this country have been politicized,” O'Neill said. “We have to be represented on the ballot but men don’t”
O'Neill decided to take her love of sculptural artwork and blossom it into something bigger.
O'Neill working on a painting of her statue design (Courtesy of VFYD)
“My skill set lends itself to environmental design, using space, and structurality,” O'Neill said. “I know that what gets people together is arts and culture.”
Using this idea, O'Neill decided to begin working on a public sculpture exhibition that blended her personal stakes in activism with spatial artwork. Her goal was to create something that would encourage people to cast their vote with empathy for women and other marginalized groups affected by Roe.
As the 2024 election approached and Trump became the official nominee of the Republican party, O'Neill noticed attitudes of distrust in the democratic process amongst the community.
“People don’t want to vote anymore because of the last election,” O'Neill said.
So instead of creating an exhibit to convince people to vote for themselves, O'Neill decided to focus her sculptures on something else.
“Would you go vote for your daughter? Because that’s who needs your vote right now,” O'Neill said.
This is what inspired the idea behind the name, “Vote for Your Daughter.” The public exhibit will feature 51 large sculptural works of young girls, each representing an American state and the District of Columbia.
“Vote for Your Daughter (VFYD) is designed to inspire action and defend the rights of American women and girls by using art as a vehicle to educate American voters and bring awareness to issues that directly affect those women and girls,” O'Neill said on her website.
The statues are accompanied by QR codes that provide quick information on politicized topics such as healthcare, education, and reproductive rights. Their public display is meant to grab the attention of passersby and encourage them to observe the statues, scan the QR codes, and access educational resources.
VFYD statues in Washington D.C. (Courtesy of VFYD)
Despite the campaign’s focus on predominantly left-leaning ideologies, such as the freedom of choice, O'Neill made it clear that the goal of the exhibit was purely bipartisan.
“I wanted to make sure people are open to just having a conversation,” O'Neill said.
There are currently multiple artists O'Neill has welcomed onto the campaign to help construct the 51 statues. Each artist is encouraged to add their unique style to each statue, developing a visually dynamic exhibit.
Roxanne Christie, a decorative artist from the DMV, has already created two statues for VFYD.
Christie was invited onto the campaign by O'Neill who trained Christie in the same spatial art forms that are O'Neill’s strong suit.
“I love to raise people’s spirits and awareness through art,” Christie said. “So I thought this was a great way to do it.”
Christie also had personal motivations for joining the campaign.
“I have daughters and I do just want to be a part of creating a more promising future for our children,” Christie said.
Christie’s role as a decorative artist is to work on plain mannequins and transform them into elegantly decorated statues. As a facilitator, O'Neill left the bulk of creative vision making up to Christie. Christie’s stylistic choices for the statue included blending elements of her heritage to bring intersectionality into the exhibition.
Christie’s statue, 2nd from right, pictured at an event in Miami. (Courtesy of @maggieoartist on Instagram)
“I chose to use West African fabrics because they represent our journey that we have within VFYD as a Black community,” Christie said.
The way art resonates with individuals is a key component of drawing attention to the exhibit. Christie has personally witnessed her artwork touch the hearts of viewers.
“I saw a man of color standing next to one of my mannequins, taking pictures, and that was a real goal,” Christie said. “He was excited about it and he wanted to be a part of the journey.”
Even though VFYD serves a political purpose through its artistic communication, Christie mentioned that politics was not her main motivation in contributing to the exhibit.
“The mannequins bring something else,” Christie said. “It’s about promoting people to ask questions within themselves to move in the right direction.”
Before the election, Christie, O'Neill, and other artists visited red and swing states, hoping to spark dialogue among conservative crowds
“It’s really hard to look at truth,” O'Neill said. “But it is easier to digest through art and do something about it.”
The VFYD exhibit has already begun to make a difference even in its beginning stages.
“When you tell people that their daughter is on the line, they take notice,” O'Neill said.
So where does VFYD see itself going post-election? Especially with women being more politicized than ever.
O'Neill assured that the goals of VFYD would not change.
“Our goal is steadfast in that we look to highlight what is going on for women and girls regarding equal pay, healthcare, representation, and education,” O'Neill said. “The campaign may change in its approach to reach those goals within the climate of the country in the current administration. Our approach will remain arts, focused as an element of education and healing.”
Currently, VFYD is looking to expand into mutual aid efforts encouraging donations from the public to fund artists and similar educational pursuits.
“Civic engagement is going to save our civil society and artists are going to be the ones that do it,” O'Neill said. “
You can stay up to date with VFYD by following them here.
Ayushi is a sophomore studying Government and Journalism. When she’s not hammering out articles for her column, you can find her spending late nights in the ICC for dance practice, designing graphics for Corp Marketing, or making her way through Toni Morrison novels.