From Art to Activism: Drawing the Gaza Protests on Campus

The first protests I drew not just as an artist but as an activist were during the Arab Spring in 2011, when I began documenting Egyptians demonstrating in Cairo's Tahrir Square and sharing my drawings on Twitter. I was surprised to see that my drawings and cartoons were shared widely and used by Egyptians protesting in the streets. It was a profound experience, to realize that my art could become part of the protests. I drew more and got more involved documenting other protests, like the Occupy Gezi movement in Istanbul and the more recent demonstrations in Hong Kong.

My utopian goal was to be present in the square with the people, despite living in a small Italian provincial town. This is a completely personal initiative, an artistic action that is entirely independent.

The first time I met Ai Weiwei in person (we later collaborated on his graphic memoir), he asked me who I worked for. Initially taken aback, I replied that I am "an independent artist" and that I take orders from no one. Only later did I understand the importance of that question.

I draw to uphold freedom of expression—my own and those of people around the world—and to open the world's eyes to violations of human rights, from countries such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, China, Turkey, Belarus, Eritrea and Egypt.

I mainly focus on individual cases now, of people arrested for their political ideas or sentenced to death. But protests and popular movements always remain in my heart.

Since Hamas's attack into Israel on Oct. 7, everything has changed. As the dignity and humanity of the Palestinian people have been nullified, and their rights denied, students in many cities around the world have rebelled, demanding justice for Palestinians and an end to Israel's brutal war of retaliation in Gaza. Even the students at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna, where I teach, have asked to end its academic exchange with Tel Aviv's Shenkar College, an institution that supports the war in the Gaza Strip. However, the academy's Academic Council has refused to end the partnership. I have supported the students' request by not only drawing their protests but demonstrating alongside them.

For the past week, I have been drawing the ongoing protests against Israel's war in Gaza by students at Columbia University, who set up a Gaza Solidarity Encampment demanding that the university divest from Israel. When Columbia's president ordered the police to arrest more than 100 student protesters on campus, it was the first time since 1968, during the Vietnam War, that police were invited onto Columbia's campus. I have portrayed personalities such as Susan Sarandon and Cornel West, who have taken a stand in support of the students. As one of the arrested students, Isra Hirsi, said of the university administration: "What else did they expect us to do? Stay silent"?

My drawings are now freely circulating online and among the students protesting, making my artistic work complete.