Art Under Empire: Nicole Manganelli of Radical Emprints
The Art Under Empire series explores the importance of staying engaged with our artistic/creative endeavors in these precarious times, and why art matters now more than ever! Each featured radical creative answers the same ten questions about the intersection of art, politics and the personal, sharing insights on how and why they stick with it...and why you should, too.
1. Name, pronouns, location, creative medium
Nicole Manganelli, she/her, Portland, ME (unceded Wabanaki territory), letterpress printing (with some occasional linocuts and riso printing in there too)
2. Why is art important during times of political upheaval/community in crisis?
I think art can help us find other politically aligned people during times of repression and crisis. I also think that artists can help us envision the world we’re working toward, and that inspiration can fortify us even in the worst conditions. I think making art can help us to feel more whole, which means we can show up in our communities in more grounded ways. I think art can also be a way of practicing defiance and refusing to concede public space & goods & public discourse to fascists and authoritarians. Art can also remind us of the beauty of the world that we’re fighting to save: the natural world and a world in which people care for each other and experience joy and connection.
3. What are you currently working on?
My Heidelberg Windmill was down for a couple of months, so honestly I’m just catching up and restocking a bunch of prints & cards. I have two artist’s books brewing - one as a call to action for witches to refuse to cede the power of the internet to fascists, and one about windows as portals between the worlds of the living and the dead. And I just put out a few new designs in my Lead & Roses series of cards for organizers.
4. What do you want to see more of from the art/creative world?
I want every wealthy participant in the art buying world to give away their wealth to democratically-run organizations and political artists. I want artists who are experiencing success in the current art world to bring as many other artists along with them as possible. I feel like I’ve been lucky to experience a tremendous amount of openness and generosity from other political artists especially, and I want more people to have that experience. I want artists to talk to each other in real numbers about their income, and share strategies for surviving as artists under late-stage capitalism. (https://www.art.coop/ & Artists for Radical Imagination are actually both doing really amazing work about this!)
