I spent Friday morning in my studio with a tiny paintbrush, hunched over a piece of watercolor paper taped to my desk. Later that day, the finished piece would join over 40 other items in an art auction to raise money for legal fees and basic needs for a local teen the community has been rallying behind.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents snatched Wilbur Cross high schooler Esdrás R. from his car wash job on July 21. On Wednesday, I saw that Edgewood bookstore Possible Futures and pop-up art vending group Crafters of Color had an open invitation for artists in the community to contribute art, craft items, and home goods for an art auction fundraiser for Esdrás’ legal fund. I signed up right away, not knowing what I’d make.
The fundraiser, which took place at Possible Futures Friday afternoon, raised thousands of dollars in auction bids alone, not counting the ticket sales from a raffle portion of the event or donations made in exchange for pastries and drinks. Dozens of artists donated items, and many of them stuck around to get raffle tickets or check out the display. Don’t worry if you missed seeing the items in person; the online auction is still live, closing Friday night, Aug. 8.
On Thursday, one day before the auction went live, I decided on a painting concept, finding inspiration in a piece I made a year ago in July. It was in response to what I saw as the West Haven Police Department’s years-long neglect and inappropriate conduct in the death of Roya Mohammadi. The police department’s handling of the case, which is currently under investigation, was unbelievable to me, while the rage and self-determination of the women around me clued me into a new sense of safety. I wanted to convey that complex feeling, along with a realignment of whose opinion really matters in order to move forward as a community.
Seeing local activists’ response to the ICE raids in our city this year, I feel similar emotions. There are important ways in which specific people must appeal to authority — for example, an immigration lawyer follows careful legal procedures. But much of the work local activists are doing wastes no time even legitimizing an agency like ICE, an institution that is younger than me. Though the anger is directed toward ICE, it is not so much a complaint that requires a response but a community practice that clarifies the situation.
I reworked the concept I made last July, replacing a police car from my original drawing with an unmarked car to represent ICE. I was sacrificing legibility, but I figured it was at least a piece that helped me process and that someone might buy for $20 or so. When I brought my painting to the fundraiser, I saw it was in good company.
Mer Wen, Crafters of Color co-founder and local leatherworker behind Beacon Craft Studio, had a full table of items for sale, including shoelace charms bearing the words “CRUSH ICE” and “END ICE.” The charms were displayed on a hefty boot, and I could almost feel the stomp.
In the two weeks since Esdrás’ detainment, ICE has shuttled him to multiple detention facilities around the country. He was scheduled to be on a deportation flight last Thursday, but local immigration attorney Tina Colón Williams, who signed on just a day before, stepped in, keeping him in the country though still in ICE’s hands.
Esdrás’ name bounced around the bookspace during the auction as people filled each other in on the latest updates on the high schooler’s case and his most recent whereabouts. They expressed concern over how scared Esdrás might be and how sudden the removal attempt had been.
As people talked, details became clearer and topics of discussion became more practical, turning toward what people can do.
Fundraiser attendees who needed a break from the crowd inside the bookstore hung out on the picnic tables outside, where there was a letter-writing station complete with pens and pins from CT Students 4 A Dream. Attendees were encouraged to write letters to the people in their lives with money and resources, to tell them about Esdrás’ legal fund and invite them to donate.
Anyone who needed ideas about the long-term plan could start with the auction items themselves, many of which had a local theme: a painting by Chris Barnard, for example, depicted Edgewood Park. Local writers P. Paramita and Michelle Phương Hồ offered consultations for literary writing and poetry, respectively, which they have both offered groups right there at Possible Futures.
Auction winners, it seems, will walk away with both a nice prize and a new connection with a local community member who can help them keep an ear to the ground.
Anyla Whyte, an 11-year-old neighbor and “junior staff member” of Possible Futures, learned about Esdrás’ story through the event. Whyte remembered a similar fundraiser for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund and Medical Aid for Palestinians in December of 2023, where she won a crocheted chicken with a Palestinian flag bandana.
Crafter of Color Tiffany Hsu, tapping away on their phone, changed the online auction goal from $2,000 to $5,000. “Gotta dream big,” they said.
They were right to do so. The auction is still up until this Friday, Aug. 8, and at the time of writing is sitting at $330 in direct donations and $2,661 in current auction bids, making a total of almost $3,000 so far.
For my painting, I suggested a starting bid of $25, which Possible Futures owner Lauren Anderson swiftly changed to $40. With five days left in the auction, it’s currently sitting at $50 — double what I thought I could sell it for and definitely further than I could have gotten with my own fundraising skills.
Leslie Blatteau, an educator at Metropolitan Business Academy and president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, said she was “excited to see friends and community here” at the bookspace. She praised Possible Futures for “meeting the moment,” impressed by the quick turnaround.
Blatteau called Esdrás’ detainment a “very stark reminder of what we already knew,” illustrating how “increasingly authoritarian practices are going to impact our communities.”
When things are “hard, hectic, and confusing,” Blatteau said, it was valuable to have a physical collective space where “people can plug in and stay grounded.”
Possible Futures’ and Crafters of Color’s art auction for Esdrás will be live until Friday, Aug. 8 at 11:45 p.m. Proceeds will go to CT Students 4 A Dream’s legal fund for Esdrás, where people can also donate directly.
