'Am I Next?' protest art in downtown LA boldly asks who's safe from ICE
Source: The Guardian
Sat 20 Dec 2025 12.00 EST
Last modified on Sat 20 Dec 2025 12.02 EST
Each evening, drivers on the busy 101 freeway in downtown Los Angeles pass billboard-size portraits of Angelenos that flash across the side of a building with a simple message next to their faces: Am I Next?
Three Los Angeles institutions have teamed up to launch a response to federal immigration raids in the nation’s second-largest city, projecting illuminated images of everyday LA residents in support of the thousands of community members who have been detained this year.
Part of a protest art project entitled Am I Next?, the striking black and white images began appearing nightly on 6 November on the facades of the downtown buildings of the California Community Foundation, LA Plaza Cultura y Artes and the Japanese American National Museum in objection to the undermining of democratic norms and attacks on civil liberties.
Along with projecting portraits of Angelenos, Am I Next? highlights brief stories of people, including US citizens, accosted and snatched out of homes, cars, workplaces and the streets by federal agents, under the word “Taken”:
Mauricio, waiting for a bus.
Rosalina, at home with her children.
Juan, on lunch break from his construction job.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/20/los-angeles-public-art-trump-ice-raids