Last week, some 650 artists signed an open letter endorsing Bernie Sanders for president of the United States, a total which rapidly grew to close to 3,500 signatories. Today, to coincide with the Super Tuesday primaries, a new letter signed by over 2,200 artists, writers, and other creative professionals throws its weight behind the Democratic primary’s other progressive candidate, senator Elizabeth Warren.
Dawoud Bey, Deborah Kass Cady Noland, Catherine Opie, and Mira Schor are among the artists who, according to letter, “believe Elizabeth Warren embodies the qualities our country needs most: compassion, respect, integrity, wisdom, intellectual curiosity, optimism, and the fundamental understanding that when the least among us does better, we all do better.”
“Warren understands the essential role the arts play in the world,” the letter, written by a coalition called Artists for Warren, adds. “In her words, ‘The arts help us define our values as individuals and as a people. They give us insight into human passion and moral strength, into deep suffering and courageous struggle.’”
The Artists for Warren letter doesn’t boast the same number of notable names as the Sanders letter, which—especially during its early stages—read like an art world phone book. However, because of the nature of grassroots efforts like these, it would be difficult to draw any strong conclusions from that initial fact.
Coming into Super Tuesday, senator Warren had earned eight delegates, trailing Joe Biden, who has 54, and Bernie Sanders, who leads the pack with 60. Both Pete Buttigieg (26 delegates) and Senator Amy Klobuchar (7 delegates)—the race’s two other major candidates—suspended their campaigns in recent days and endorsed Biden, in what has been seen as an attempt by moderates to regroup and defeat the progressive insurgency within the party.
Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, a major supporter of the arts through his philanthropy, will appear on ballots for the first time in today’s 16 primary elections.
Still, the collective behind Artists for Warren sounds a confident tone: “Elizabeth Warren’s administration will reset the emotional climate of the United States,” reads the group’s letter. “She will foreground social justice, compassion, integrity and truth. We are excited to see our country leap forward under her leadership. We believe in her. We want to live in Elizabeth Warren’s America.”