Artists React to Anti-Administration Protest Art in Washington, D.C.

On the National Mall in Washington, D.C., protest pieces against the Trump Administration by an anonymous artist collective known as “The Secret Handshake" have appeared, ranging from a 12-foot statue of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein holding hands to a golden toilet titled “A Throne Fit for a King.”

The installations have drawn attention from both visitors and artists, contributing to the tradition of protest art in Washington that uses public space to hold government institutions accountable. Along with larger art installations, D.C. sees posters, stickers, and graffiti, often containing a political message.

In 2024, the city received approximately 8,500 requests from residents and business owners to remove illegal signs, stickers and graffiti, according to City Service Requests data. The graffiti removal budget was $1.3 million in 2025, while in 2026 it is currently at $560,000.

Artists in D.C. said that immediate, visual messaging is often designed to convey emotions quicker than traditional forms of political expression. Sally McBratney, cofounder and managing director of Vote for Your Daughter and Our Daughter’s Future Fund, said protest art frequently begins as a direct response to major political moments.

“We felt really compelled to do something,” McBratney said, describing how her organization responded to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. “As artists, our immediate reaction is to make some art about it.”

That response led the organization to create public installations centered on imagery of young girls positioned in front of symbols of institutional power. McBratney said the group produced 51 versions of the artwork, displaying it at the Supreme Court, the U.S. Capitol and on the National Mall.

McBratney said the power of protest art lies in its ability to connect with viewers on an emotional level.

“Art is vital in social and political movements,” she said. “Art reflects culture and informs culture, and culture informs democracy and how people vote.”

In some of D.C.’s historical neighborhoods, public art plays a big role in the environment. Kristen Barden, the Executive Director of the Adams Morgan Partnership Business Improvement District, said art reflects the neighborhood’s identity, evoking a positive response from businesses and residents and bringing more tourism to the neighborhood.

 “Adams Morgan has long been a home for artists, creatives, countercultures, and diverse communities, and that shows up in the public art throughout the neighborhood,” Barden said.

McBratney said placement is a factor in how work is received, especially in public spaces where audiences encounter art unexpectedly.

“Place is important for how people consume work,” McBratney said. “In public, context is everything.”

This differs from galleries and museums, in which people enter spaces expecting to see art and have related conversations.

For other creators, protest art functions as a form of public messaging. Aiden Milne, a graduate student at George Washington University who runs a satirical propaganda account for the university on Instagram, said his interest in protest art grew from studying wartime propaganda imagery.

“I loved old propaganda posters that were used to mobilize people for war efforts,” Milne said. “Those still evoke the same emotions today. You still see modern propaganda posters.”

Milne said visual protest messages can help externalize shared frustrations.

“Protest art visualizes the emotions people are feeling,” he said. “A lot of people have internalized a lot of emotions.”

He added that visual messages are particularly effective in environments where people are often exposed to large amounts of information.

“Some parts of the message are lost when you reduce it, but it’s easy to consume,” Milne said. “Something that’s eye-catching, something that can sum up a message in a few words, is really important.”

Repetition, he said, can also amplify impact. Seeing the same imagery multiple times can increase public familiarity and engagement.

“Walking by and seeing something multiple times increases its impact and how invested people are in what it is,” Milne said.

Not all protest art resonates with audiences. Milne described installations by “The Secret Handshake” as entertaining but unclear in their messaging.

“They’re not very thought provoking,” he said. “I think it’s funny… but I don’t really feel like I see what the message is besides like, ‘our president is a bad guy.’ But they’re funny, I’ll give them that.”

Audrey McCollum, a 21-year-old junior at GW studying international affairs, agreed with Milne’s thoughts on the pieces by the Secret Handshake, but said they have implications for the legacy of the Trump administration.

“I’m always in favor of protest art going up in spaces like the national mall,” McCollum said, arguing that distinguishing between the typical “sacred” image of the United States and what’s actually happening is very important.

“Statues, I feel like, are a way to remember people and remember things, and it’s sort of cementing that Trump’s ties to Epstein and sex trafficking is going to be a part of his legacy,” McCollum said.

Artists and organizers said that even when works get mixed reactions, protest art continues to play an important role. McBratney said her organization intentionally uses art to encourage public engagement with political issues.

“To inspire people to be active participants in civic life—whether that’s getting people to go and vote… or getting people to understand that you just do what you can with what you have, where you are,” she said.

Artists working in political spaces sometimes encounter hesitation from institutions concerned about partisanship. McBratney said some potential collaborators have stepped back from projects out of concern that the work could be interpreted as politically charged.

“The common theme is: anything that could be perceived as partisan, some people just don’t want to touch with a 10-foot pole,” she said.

Despite those challenges, she said artists remain committed to using public art to start conversations and document political moments.

“Artists have a really vital role in capturing the current events of what’s going on in a more emotional way that allows people to connect on almost a primal level,” McBratney said. “And that’s what helps create change.”