Faces of a Question: 'Am I Next?' Art Campaign Transforms LA's New Year's Eve

LOS ANGELES, CA – December 30, 2025 – As thousands of Angelenos prepare to flood Gloria Molina Grand Park for NYELA, the West Coast's largest free New Year's Eve party, a stark and silent question will loom over the celebration. Projected onto the imposing facade of the Hall of Records will be the faces of everyday residents, accompanied by a message that cuts through the festive noise: "Am I Next?"

This powerful public art installation is the centerpiece of the "Am I Next" civil rights campaign, a major initiative sponsored by the California Community Foundation (CCF). It aims to cast a light on the human impact of a dramatic escalation in federal immigration enforcement that has defined 2025. While partygoers enjoy live music, food trucks, and a countdown to 2026, the illuminated portraits will offer a moment of profound reflection on safety, belonging, and the state of American civil liberties.

The campaign's inclusion is deliberately woven into the fabric of the event, whose theme for the year is "The Power of One." The organizers intend for the projection to be more than a piece of art; it is a call for solidarity and a recommitment to core values of due process and human dignity at a time of heightened anxiety for many communities.

"NYELA and Am I Next reflect the Los Angeles community we know and love—shaped by people from everywhere and bound by a shared belief in fairness," said Lucas Rivera, the campaign's project director. "The 'Power of One' speaks to something deeply Angeleno: that each of us matters and that dignity and due process begin with recognizing one another's humanity."

A Question Fueled by a National Surge

The campaign's unsettling question is not hypothetical. It emerges from a year marked by a significant increase in federal immigration raids and detentions. The Department of Homeland Security reported over 622,000 removals in 2025, and by late November, the number of individuals held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers had swelled to a record high of approximately 66,000—a staggering 70% increase from the previous year.

This surge is the direct result of aggressive new policies, including the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA) signed into law on July 4, 2025. The act allocated $45 billion to DHS, effectively quadrupling the annual budget for immigrant detention and funding a vast expansion of the system. In California, ICE arrests peaked at 3,600 in June 2025, more than six times the figure from the same month in 2024.

Crucially, the "Am I Next" campaign highlights a deeply alarming aspect of these enforcement actions: the detention of tens of thousands of people, including U.S. citizens, and a growing number of individuals with no criminal record. Data from states like Oregon shows that in 2025, only 32% of people arrested by ICE had prior criminal convictions, a notable drop from 45% in 2024. This shift means that an increasing number of detentions are based solely on immigration violations, amplifying the fear and uncertainty within mixed-status families and communities. The tension is palpable in Los Angeles, where the recent New Year's Eve shooting of a man named Keith “Pooter” Porter by an off-duty ICE agent in Northridge has already sparked calls for justice from groups like Black Lives Matter Los Angeles.

Philanthropy and Art Converge for Activism

The force behind the "Am I Next" campaign is the California Community Foundation, a philanthropic leader with a long and documented history of supporting immigrant rights and social justice in Los Angeles. This installation is a continuation of CCF's strategic response to the unfolding humanitarian situation. In June 2025, the foundation established the L.A. Neighbors Support Fund to provide nonprofit groups with resources for food, cash assistance, and other essentials for families torn apart by raids.

CCF's involvement, alongside partners like the Japanese American National Museum and LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, grounds the campaign in a coalition of institutions dedicated to public reflection and democratic values. These partners began projecting the illuminated images on their own buildings in November, signaling a sustained effort that extends beyond a single night of celebration. The expansion to NYELA represents a significant scaling of their message, leveraging a massive civic event to reach a broader audience.

Directing the project is Lucas Rivera, a multidisciplinary artist and cultural strategist with deep roots in Los Angeles's cultural scene. His involvement is particularly noteworthy as he previously served as the executive director for Gloria Molina Grand Park, where he was responsible for producing NYELA itself. Founder of the creative agency Sakul Creative, Rivera has built a career turning public spaces into stages for community expression. His intimate knowledge of the event and his artistic focus on identity and heritage make him uniquely suited to integrate this challenging message into a celebratory atmosphere.

A New Year's Eve of Celebration and Contemplation

NYELA is an institution in Los Angeles, an event synonymous with joyous crowds and shared optimism for the year ahead. The introduction of the "Am I Next" installation creates a powerful juxtaposition: a city celebrating its future while being forced to confront a difficult present. The campaign does not seek to overshadow the festivities but to imbue them with a deeper meaning.

As the final seconds of 2025 tick away and a massive countdown is projected onto the iconic L.A. City Hall, another set of images on the Hall of Records will be asking a question that will linger long after the crowds disperse. The installation invites viewers to reflect on the stakes of the moment and to consider the power of one individual to stand for the rights of another. In a city built by immigrants from every corner of the globe, the projected faces will serve as a quiet but unyielding reminder of the shared humanity that binds them, challenging every Angeleno to consider their own answer as the new year dawns.