This artist is drawing beautiful portraits of marginalized people in the wake of the election
We often turn to art as a way to express the feelings we can’t seem to shake off or articulate in words. Especially in this post-election climate, art is more important than ever.
The day after the presidential election, Tyler Feder, an illustrator based in Chicago, was disheartened by the results and proceeded to post a note on her Instagram, offering to draw portraits of marginalized people, the Huffington Post reported.
Feder has since asked people to tag their selfies under the hashtag #DrawMeTyler, a handful of which she has picked randomly. So far, over 800 posts have been tagged, according to the Huffington Post.
Feder explained to the Huffington Post that she took to art as a creative platform to help others feel less alone and support those who have felt marginalized, invisible, and unheard:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BDWRlRGaE2
“I knew that there were so many Americans feeling even worse than I did. I wanted to use my art to help marginalized people feel visible after an election that made us feel like we didn’t matter.
Feder’s signature illustrations are marked with hearts and beams of light. Feder has drawn hijabi women, pregnant women, people of color, and a “trans man and a little boy with Down syndrome whose mother requested the portrait,” the Huffington Post reported.
The vibrant illustrations come in the midst of increasing reports of intimidation and harassment across the nation since the election, according to statistics released by Southern Poverty Law Center.
Earlier this week, Feder asked her Instagram followers for suggestions on how to move forward with the portrait project to support those affected by the election. Many followers suggested donations to the ACLU (whose site recently went down after a deluge of donations across the country) and Planned Parenthood.
In an email to HelloGiggles, Feder says she hopes her illustrations will be a "reminder to marginalized people that they matter, even if the current political climate tries to tell them otherwise." As of now, she's drawn almost 60 illustrations in the past week, she said.
We’re a huge fan of Feder and can’t help but love all of her other optimistic messages and pop culture illustrations — especially the Gilmore Girls cup collection — on her Etsy page. We could sure use a cup of coffee to get us through these next few years.
H/T Huffington Post
