Ayla's story:  "Standing Proud"

This piece is a statement of solidarity with People of Colour, inspired by my own journey and the trailblazers who made my freedom possible.

Top Left – Miriam Makeba: Exiled South African musician and activist who used her global platform to speak out against apartheid alongside leaders like Martin Luther King Jr.

Top Right – Gloria Steinem & Dorothy Pitman Hughes: Icons of feminist and civil rights solidarity, demonstrating the vital intersection of women’s and racial justice.

Bottom Right – Marsha P. Johnson: Trans activist and Stonewall veteran who fought for queer liberation despite facing exclusion; her unsolved 1992 death highlights the ongoing violence against trans women of color.

Bottom Left – Rosa Parks: Civil rights hero whose 1955 bus arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott; she spent her life advocating for Black power and gender equality within movement spaces.

Center – Protesters & Symbols: * Blank Signs: A defiant stand against censorship, inviting viewers to fill in what matters to them.

"Silence is Violence": A personal callout against complicity, honoring my own past and commitment to protection.

Aboriginal Flag: A pledge to First Nations peoples, honoring their land stewardship and condemning ongoing colonization.

Black Lives Matter Symbol: A stand against systemic racism, profiling, and discrimination.

Created for the child in me who always questioned injustice, this artwork is a message to People of Colour: I hear you, I stand with you, and solidarity is a must.

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