> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Light Projections Say “Pay Trump Bribes Here” on President’s DC Hotel
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/light-projections-say-pay-trump-bribes-here-on-presidents-dc-hotel/
- Published: 2017-05-16T17:37:06.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:27:18.000Z
- Description: Last night, artist and activist Robin Bell lit up the façade of Trump International Hotel with references to the emoluments clause.
- Author: Jillian Steinhauer
- Tags: In Brief, light projection, Robin Bell, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:23 (2016, 2017, part 2)

> Projections of [#EmolumentsWelcome](https://twitter.com/hashtag/EmolumentsWelcome?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) at Trump Hotel in Washington, DC 5-15-17 [#resist](https://twitter.com/hashtag/resist?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) [pic.twitter.com/8gkucztYOm](https://t.co/8gkucztYOm?ref=hyperallergic.com)  
>  
> — robin bell (@bellvisuals) [May 16, 2017](https://twitter.com/bellvisuals/status/864388423808843776?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com)

Last night, just a few hours after the *Washington Post* dropped the [bombshell of a story](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-revealed-highly-classified-information-to-russian-foreign-minister-and-ambassador/2017/05/15/530c172a-3960-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.199a2a76886c&ref=hyperallergic.com) that President Trump had disclosed highly classified intel to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador, light projections began appearing on the façade of Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC — which is a 15-minute walk from the White House. “Pay Trump Bribes Here,” read one, with an arrow pointing perfectly to the entrance to the hotel. “Emoluments Welcome,” said another, referring to the [clause in the US constitution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title%5Fof%5FNobility%5FClause?ref=hyperallergic.com) that bars members of the government from receiving gifts from foreign powers. Yet another projected the full text of that clause.

The protest was staged by artist, filmmaker, activist, and “[D.C. punk historian](https://www.citylab.com/design/2016/11/protesting-trump-the-district-of-columbia-way/508475/?ref=hyperallergic.com)” [Robin Bell](http://bellvisuals.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com), who, according to the [*LA Times*](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/miranda/la-et-cam-robin-bell-projections-20170516-story.html?ref=hyperallergic.com), has been doing guerrilla light projections for years. “We had a really great moment tonight with this projection,” Bell told the *Times*. “This double-decker tour bus pulls up to the Trump hotel and everyone starts taking photos and clapping and people are cheering us.” A photo posted on Twitter by an onlooker captures the tour bus moment:

> Well. This tour bus stopped in front of Trump Hotel, taking in some Presidential history. [#open24hrs](https://twitter.com/hashtag/open24hrs?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) [#TrumpRussia](https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrumpRussia?src=hash&ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com)[@bellvisuals](https://twitter.com/bellvisuals?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com) & co [pic.twitter.com/maOXbyMXbO](https://t.co/maOXbyMXbO?ref=hyperallergic.com)  
>  
> — Adrian Parsons (@adrian\_parsons) [May 16, 2017](https://twitter.com/adrian%5Fparsons/status/864301636553986048?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com)

This wasn’t Bell’s first light assault on the local Trump International: back in November, shortly after the election, he projected “Experts Agree: Trump Is a Pig” on the hotel’s façade during an action focused on the EPA, [City Lab](https://www.citylab.com/design/2016/11/protesting-trump-the-district-of-columbia-way/508475/?ref=hyperallergic.com) reported. And he’s part of a growing group of artists and activists [using light projection](https://hyperallergic.com/230212/a-handy-beginners-guide-to-urban-light-projection/) as a form of protest, from the [Illuminator](https://hyperallergic.com/tag/the-illuminator/), which grew out of Occupy Wall Street, to immigrants rights group Movimiento Cosecha, which lit up the Midtown Manhattan Trump Tower last September with [images of migrant workers](https://hyperallergic.com/light-projection-aims-to-remind-trump-his-tower-was-built-by-undocumented-workers/).

In each case, the projections don’t last very long — last night’s went on for 10 minutes — but they create conversation, both on the internet, where the images often go viral, and in person, as passersby react and respond. They’re a way of reclaiming public space, which has been severely privatized over the past several decades, however briefly.

As Bell told the *LA Times*: “People will hang out and start to talk about things. The whole thing is that you’re trying to create this space.”

> Right now at Trump's DC hotel! [pic.twitter.com/95cwrUmbmF](https://t.co/95cwrUmbmF?ref=hyperallergic.com)  
>  
> — igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) [May 16, 2017](https://twitter.com/igorvolsky/status/864306427720085504?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=hyperallergic.com)