Rafael Shimunov

Rafael Shimunov is an artist and activist from Queens, New York, where he, as a child, arrived with his parents as HIAS refugees from Uzbekistan. Rafael has used art and design to oppose oppressive systems for 15 years after leaving a career with ad agencies. Most recently, Rafael's work included an unauthorized exhibit at The Whitney Museum, protesting their chair's links to weapons manufacturing and its impact on asylum seekers at the border. Rafael serves as executive board member of Jews For Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) and is a Communications Director at Athena, a coalition of grassroots groups opposing Amazon's harms to workers, local communities and the climate.