Cardi B, David Hockney, and Other Creative Stars Made Artworks for an Auction Benefiting the Families of Slain Black Women—See Them Here

The auction is organized by the African American Policy Forum.

Usher with his and James Jean's sign Can't Breath for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Usher, Jim Carrey, Bruno Mars, Marilyn Minter, and David Hockney are among the more than 100 creative stars who have made artworks in memory of Black women killed by the police. The works will appear in “Show Me the Signs,” an exhibition and auction benefiting the womens’ families.

The proceeds of the sale will go to the #SayHerName Mothers Network, run by the African American Policy Forum.

“Black women and girls do not fit the most accessible frames of anti-Black police violence, and because of that, it’s difficult to tell their stories in a way that people recognize and remember,” said #SayHerName founder Kimberlé Crenshaw in a statement. “By working with the families of slain Black women, AAPF’s #SayHerName campaign resists Black women’s invisibility by telling their stories.”

Participants were asked to make work in the spirit of solidarity and empowering love, and the results vary widely. Starting bids range from just $1—for the Haas Brothers’ cardboard sign that encourages bidders to “do more than bidding on a sign”—to up to $20,000 for works by Rashid Johnson and Nancy Rubins.

Rashid Johnson with his painting <em>Untitled</em> for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Rashid Johnson with his painting Untitled for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Camille Henrot offers Breonna Taylor, a bird painted on a wood panel that pays tribute to the late EMS technician who police shot and killed while she was asleep in bed, from a starting bid of $15,000. Kenny Scharf’s piece Truck Fump!, a colorful acrylic on cardboard painting featuring the work’s title uttered in agreement by the silhouettes of Betty and Wilma from The Flintstones, starts at $5,250.

Auctioning from just $100 are an acrylic canvas of the American flag by Lenny Kravitz; Billie Eilish’s hand-scrawled “Stop Killing Black People” sign, written in black marker on an uneven cardboard square; and Cardi B’s sign listing the names of Black victims of police violence including Tamir Rice, Atatiana Jefferson, Sandra Bland, Sean Bell, and George Floyd.

Billie Eilish, BLM Protest Sign for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Billie Eilish, BLM Protest Sign for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo by Ed Mumford, courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

The works are available online at Artfizz, a new community-driven contemporary art marketplace that is hosting the sale ahead of its official launch. Following a preview that begins today, the auction will take place in two parts, from November 10 to 19 and then November 21 to 30, with an in-person exhibition of the signs at Blum and Poe in Los Angeles through November 14.

“We thank all of the participating artists who have shared their creative vision to stand for love and equal justice, and to support this important cause,” said benefit committee member Amanda Hunt, director of public programs at Los Angeles’s Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, in a statement. “‘Show Me the Signs’ brings the creative community together with a larger collective to protest police violence against Black women, support the families already impacted, and promote a better future for all.”

See more artworks from the auction below.

Nancy Rubins with her sign <em>Drawing for Breonna</em> for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Nancy Rubins with her sign Drawing for Breonna for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

George Condo with his painting <em>Painting for Breonna Taylor</em> for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

George Condo with his painting Painting for Breonna Taylor for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

David Hockney, Love Life and Lives and Beauty for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

David Hockney, Love Life and Lives and Beauty for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo by Ed Mumford, courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

The Haas Brothers with their sign Sign of the Times for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Bruno Mars drawing his sign <em>Untitled</em> for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Bruno Mars drawing his sign Untitled for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Jim Carrey, Shape of Nightmares for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Jim Carrey, Shape of Nightmares for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo by Ed Mumford, courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Cardi B, <em>Untitled</em> for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo by Ed Mumford, courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Cardi B, Untitled for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo by Ed Mumford, courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Zoe Buckman with her sign <em>Untitled</em> for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Zoe Buckman with her sign Untitled for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Hope Gangloff with her sign <em>Murderers</em> for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Hope Gangloff with her sign Murderers for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Camille Henrot, Breonna Taylor for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Camille Henrot, Breonna Taylor for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo by Ed Mumford, courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Kenny Scharf with his painting <em>Truck Fump!</em> for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Kenny Scharf with his painting Truck Fump! for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Glenyse Thompson with her sign <em>The Night Has A Thousand Eyes</em> for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Glenyse Thompson with her sign The Night Has A Thousand Eyes for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Lenny Kravitz with his untitled painting for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Lenny Kravitz with his untitled painting for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Marilyn Minter with her painting <em>Justice Now</em> for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Marilyn Minter with her painting Justice Now for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Saya Woolfalk, <em>Protest Poster (Black Lives Matter)</em> for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo by Ed Mumford, courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Saya Woolfalk, Protest Poster (Black Lives Matter) for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo by Ed Mumford, courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Lyn Foulkes with his sign <em>No Words</em> for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Lyn Foulkes with his sign No Words for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.

Duke Riley with his sign Nautical Black Loves Matter (Bravo Lima Mike) for the “Show Me the Signs” auction. Photo courtesy of the African American Policy Forum.


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