Violet Dillard on solidarity and liberation through art

Unveiling We are working toward a just world where… We act in solidarity with communities who experience oppression and recognize that our liberation is directly linked to theirs.

Our final artwork in our We are working toward a just world where… series comes from Violet Dillard.

Violet Dillard

Violet Dillard is a Grant High School student born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Throughout her life her parents encouraged her to be creative, whether it was in the form of drawing, sculpting, or even cooking. Her main medium of art is linocuts, but she dabbles in other forms as well, such as spray painting and sketching. She has a passion for social justice work and plans on becoming an environmental scientist in the future.

Artist’s Statement

We act in solidarity with communities who experience oppression and recognize that our liberation is directly linked to theirs.

This piece depicts a variety of people from different backgrounds who came together to help each other out.

More about the series

Launched in celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month, We are working toward a just world where… commissioned six unique Asian and Pacific Islander artists to create original artwork envisioning a world of solidarity, justice, and empowerment. Each artist was selected through an open call application process and chose one of APANO’s core values to illustrate. Their artwork reflects the depth of our experiences and envisions the shared future we want to see: a prosperous, healthy future in which our families and communities have the rights, recognition, and resources to truly thrive.

This project amplifies APANO’s cultural work strategy, which seeks to use creativity to center the voices and experiences of Asian and Pacific Islanders, shift harmful narratives, and envision alternatives. It was strongly inspired by Strong Families’ Mama’s Day and Trans Day of Resilience projects, which we encourage you to explore. Learn more about our cultural work here and read about Asian Pacific American Heritage Month here.