NO ICE IS RALLYING CRY AND DODGERS LOGO CO-OPTED
As federal immigration raids intensify across Los Angeles, artists, designers, and communities are responding. The phrase “No ICE” has become a ubiquitous rallying cry — appearing in hand-drawn posters, vigil signage, and downloadable toolkits circulating on Instagram, ready for print or repost.
At the forefront is Crenshaw Dairy Mart, an artist-run collective and gallery committed to addressing the trauma-driven conditions of poverty and injustice. Co-founder Noé Olivas has transformed the familiar ICE logo — normally seen on gas station freezers — into a striking mural across the collective’s façade. Its blocky, snow-capped lettering is reimagined as a bold call to action rather than a corporate mark.
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As part of its Summer of Resistance, Crenshaw Dairy Mart invited artist and altarista Ernesto Rocha to contribute an interactive installation, How to Melt ICE. The piece invited participants to engage directly: to crush, heat, and ultimately dissolve ICE—symbolically abolishing harm without inflicting it on themselves, others, or the environment.
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The visual resistance extends far beyond. Across the city, protest signage has co-opted the LA Dodgers logo — not just as a symbol of civic pride, but as a pointed reminder of Chavez Ravine, the working-class Mexican American community erased through eminent domain and political maneuvering to make way for Dodger Stadium.
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There are also flashes of levity. Oversized, hand-stitched middle finger masks recall Claes Oldenburg’s playful object replicas. A life-sized pink Labubu — the viral Kasing Lung plush creature somewhere between gremlin and greeter — made a surprise protest appearance, dancing with attitude. And in the skies above downtown, artist Beatriz Cortez staged a powerful act of skywriting: “No Cages No Jaulas”. Part of a nationwide, artist-led Independence Day protest, its bilingual message pierced the skyline and the national conversation on detention centers.
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“Art and culture function as invitations for direct action; they are onramps for further and more disciplined engagement,” Rocha says.
