She guarded the Black Lives Matter memorial. Now, she’s working to protect its art

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Nadine Seiler poses with a piece of artwork that was once displayed on the Black Lives Matter fence near the White House. Seiler is working to find new homes for the 700-plus artifacts left by protesters.

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Jonathan Franklin/NPR

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Seiler is working with fellow protester Karen Irwin from New York to find new homes for what Seiler estimates are more than 700 items.

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Signs on the fence surrounding the White House during the 2020 Presidential election. The fence, which came down in January 2021, once served as home to nearly 700+ signs and artwork during the course of the racial protests in D.C. following George Floyd’s murder.

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Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images

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Signs on the fence surrounding the White House on Nov. 4, 2020. The majority of the artwork featured on the fence will be preserved in an archive in partnership with Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library.

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Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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A steel fence at Lafayette Park was turned into a makeshift memorial after DC Mayor Muriel Bowser renamed that section of 16th street «Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House in June 2020. The artwork that was once displayed on the fence is currently being digitally archived for a future visual collection.

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Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

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Once the items have all been scanned, Seiler says the gifting process for the artwork will then begin.

Ideally, she says organizers with the D.C. chapter of Black Lives Matter would like for the pieces to stay in the hands of Black organizations but mentions that wherever the pieces may land, she hopes people would recognize their worth and the messages behind them.

«I don’t know what it’s going to take, but whoever takes some has to agree to care for them, Seiler says.