Early MAY 2020, I put together a fundraiser to raise money for those affected by Covid-19, the outcome was over 30 artist coming together to recreate the White T-Shirt for an auction. We raised over 5K and all the money went to organizations and families affected by the pandemic. You can read the whole story below <3 ENJOY!

The White T-Shirt Project: Designers and artists of all mediums are invited to create a piece of their own vision with no set guidelines or rules, other than using a white t-shirt.The White T-Shirt Project is a concept born of my own childhood experience in quarantine, as a child living in El Salvador during a civil war. When I was five years old my entire neighborhood came to stay with my family at my grandma’s house. It was the largest house with walls thick enough to prevent bullets from getting through, and we were also fortunate enough to have provisions to provide and care for our family and neighbors. I remember how frustrated I felt when my aunts and uncles used all of my art materials to make a sign for our roof displaying to the guerrillas (FMLN) that children and families were here, to keep them from shooting our way. My grandma knew to keep peace with both sides and was empathetic by nature. At night the guerrillas would sneak in and shoot the military helicopters, but in the morning she would give coffee to the soldiers.

My grandma helped everyone; during a war everyone was a victim.Eventually the guerrillas failed to take over the national palace and decided to leave the city. My moment of quarantine had passed. To signal our place of peace to the bomb-dropping helicopters above we waved white fabric above our heads: white blankets, white rags, and, for me, a white t-shirt.

Now, as I experience a different kind of quarantine I’m revisiting the past trauma and remembering this powerful symbol of hope and peace, the new beginning represented to me by a white t-shirt. It’s extraordinary to witness all the places an artist’s imagination can take a white t-shirt to. As I witness people feeling restless and hungry to work or do something, this is such a great moment to challenge ourselves and give back to our community.

The current crisis creates a unique opportunity to find ways to survive in different ways. This project seeks to create an opportunity to release the unique energies that are being experienced during this time of shelter in place. More importantly, it shines a light on hope, new beginnings, community aid, and support.

The artists participating in this project will have their final creations photographed professionally in studio. Each will be sold in an Ebay auction starting at $100 with no limit on bidding and will be up for 7 days!. Each artist will select a family or individual impacted by COVID-19 to receive the proceeds from their auctioned piece.

TIMELINE

May 1-8, Artist submission deadline, scheduled through a safe, no contact drop off or pick up

May 9-12 Submissions photographed in studio

May 13-20 (7 days) Ebay Auction

The last community effort we organized was co-creating and selling *these t-shirts* with friends. We used our collective voices and creativity to make a statement of protest against ICE and their actions of separating families at the border. We also raised money for Raices, a nonprofit providing free and low-cost legal services to immigrant families and refugees. It’s so important that we not imagine an apocalypse but rather organize a revolution.

The White T-Shirt Project aims to be a small step towards a brighter new beginning for us all on the other side, and we are doing what we can.

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