Projects tagged "Civil Liberties"

Once banned for his work, anti-apartheid activist highlights role of politics in art
Practitioner:
Gavin Jantjes
Date:
Jun 19 2024
In 1978, while studying print-making in Hamburg, Gavin Jantjes was deemed a persona non grata by South Africa. His crime? Creating a series of prints that documented the violence and discrimination in the apartheid state, which he gathered together under the tongue-in-cheek name of a "colouring book".
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Threads of Resistance
Practitioner:
Artist Circle Alliance
Date:
Jul 15 2017
A juried exhibition of fiber art created by the Artist Circle Alliance to protest the Trump administration’s actions and policies. This is a traveling exhibition to 13 venues across the U.S. All work in the exhibition, as well as the nearly 560 pieces submitted for jurying, are shown on our website.
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Beyonce's Lemonade
Practitioner:
Beyonce
Date:
Feb 1 2016
In a single hour, Beyoncé's Lemonade re-wrote the textbook definition of what a visual album should look like. The genre-bending music it introduced will define the struggles a generation was enduring in 2016, specifically for black women. The project transcends every definition pop has ever had; blending R&B, contemporary rock, country, reggae, soul and hip-hop in its 12 tracks, occasionally fusing several of these into a single song.
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The Dark Side: O'Keefe
Practitioner:
James O'Keefe, Hannah Giles
Date:
Sep 3 2009
Trickery and disguise, usually followed by revealing the truth, are often tactics used by liberal activism, like the Yes Men for example. When used by the right, however, it can have different implications. Pretending to be a CEO or billionaire in order to expose corporate greed and corruption is clearly different then pretending to be a minority. The use of disguise can manipulate and shed light on hierarchies of power.
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Norwegians sing to annoy mass killer
Practitioner:
Norwegians
Date:
Apr 26 2012
Norwegians raised their voices in unison on Thursday to get under the skin of admitted mass killer Anders Behring Breivik. An estimated 40,000 people turned out in central Oslo's Youngstorget square to sing "Children of the Rainbow," a Norwegian version of "My Rainbow Race," written by American folk singer Pete Seeger.
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The Invisible Man
Practitioner:
Liu Bolin
Date:
Jan 1 2005
“My intention was not to disappear in the environment but instead to let the environment take possession of me” Said Liu Bolin. With his strong photography, Bolin vanishes into the city, creating a powerful statement about our relationship, as humans, to our surroundings.
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Shoddy, a disability arts exhibition
Practitioner:
Gill Crawshaw; Uk disabled artists
Date:
Apr 7 2016
A disability / textile arts project, challenging assumptions about disabled artists & highlighting shoddy treatment of disabled people by current government: https://shoddyexhibition.wordpress.com/
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Abortion Access & Gender-Based Violence in Haiti
Practitioner:
Nègès Mawon
Date:
Mar 30 2023
Haiti is a conservative society where Roman Catholicism shapes many of its social norms. Patriarchal norms, says Haitian feminist Pascale Solages, co-founder and general coordinator of feminist organization Nègès Mawon, have informed its strict views on abortion. In Haiti, women can’t legally access voluntary abortions. Doctors can’t perform them unless the woman’s life is in danger.
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"Fuck Tha Police": N.W.A.'s Most Courageous Song is Still Relevant As Ever
Practitioner:
N.W.A.
Date:
Aug 9 1998
Upon its original release on N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton LP in 1988, the song was safely titled “_ _ _ _ Tha Police (Fill in the Blanks),” and the album cover was among the first to feature the infamous “Parental Advisory” label, warning moms and dads about the album’s explicit lyrics. A censored version of the LP even omitted the song entirely.
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Pop-Up Studio: Kids’ Campaign to Correct History
Practitioner:
Sam Durant and Elisa Harkins, UCLA
Date:
Mar 26 2017
Join other families in reimagining sports team mascots and logos that misrepresent Native American communities. Design a campaign for alternative names with the help of artists Sam Durant and Elisa Harkins, taking inspiration from the exhibition Jimmie Durham: At the Center of the World. Pop-Up Studio Families explore art and create together in lively workshops led by artists. These drop-in programs are designed for ages 5 and up.
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Art and Restorative Justice: Transformative Healing Through Expression
Practitioner:
Young New Yorkers, Project Reset, Centre for Justice Innovation, Centre for Art Law
Date:
Jan 14 2020
Rooted in Native American and indigenous practices,[11] restorative justice is a set of principles and practices that aims to help communities heal from conflict and harm by developing a common understanding of the root causes and effects.[12] Restorative justice can occur in a variety of different contexts: in the workplace, at schools and within, or instead of, the criminal justice system.
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Nana Van
Practitioner:
Artist Marisa Jahn and the National Domestic Workers Alliancem
Date:
May 2 2013
The Nanny Van is a public art initiative run by REV- and the National Domestic Workers Alliance. This project aims at shorting distances, gaps and obstacles between domestic workers and the proper information of their rights. Therefore, Nanny Van is a smartphone app every person can download in order to access information about the legal conditions and state any kind of questions or claims.
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MTA 'See Something, Say Something' Posters Get #Resist Makeover
Practitioner:
Anonymous
Date:
Mar 9 2017
If you scanned the public service announcements in your subway car this morning—and happened to be adequately caffeinated—you might have noticed something slightly off. There's Melissa C., of small-time "See Something, Say Something" fame, with her gold hoops and salmon-pink hoodie. She's smiling next to the familiar MTA logo, but her message isn't just about reporting a suspicious bag on the platform and feeling heroic.
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Inviting Strangers and Homeless people for Dinner
Practitioner:
Brother Gao (China)
Date:
Aug 1 2003
Brother Gao are two China artists. Their works are aims at reflecting the reality of Chinese society in an artistic and critical view. In 2003, the brothers held an event to invite many strangers for a dinner.
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"STAND UP FOR SOMETHING" Oscars 2018
Practitioner:
Common, Andra Day & Special Guests
Date:
Mar 4 2018
The American rapper’s performance of 'Stand Up for Something' with singer Andra Day has gone down as one of the highlights of this year’s Academy Awards. Common used his Oscars performance to condemn Donald Trump’s “hate” and the National Rifle Association. The American rapper’s performance of “Stand Up for Something” with singer Andra Day has been held up by many as one of the highlights of this year’s Academy Awards.
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Slashing the Rokeby Venus
Practitioner:
Mary Raleigh Richardson, WSPU
Date:
Mar 10 1914
On March 10, 1914, Mary Richardson slashed Velasquez's "Rokeby Venus" with a small axe during public hours at the National Gallery in London. A militant suffragette protesting the force-feeding of imprisoned suffragettes in prison (and the Cat and Mouse Act which released the starving women only until they were slightly healthier only to imprison them again), Richardson released this statement after her arrest:
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Rhodes Must Fall
Practitioner:
UCT Students
Date:
Mar 6 2015
This series of protests began on the UCT campus in an effort to remove the bronze statute of Cecil Rhodes in the center of campus due to the belief that Rhodes represents the oppressive colonization of South Africa that eventually led to apartheid.
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All Power to All People
Practitioner:
Hank Willis Thomas
Date:
Sep 1 2017
Located in Thomas Paine Plaza, across the street from City Hall, Hank Willis Thomas’s All Power to All People was a public art intervention that dealt with racial identity and representation in Philadelphia.
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NYU Activist Group on the Streets
Practitioner:
EMERGENYC
Date:
May 17 2017
On a sidewalk in the Village in downtown Manhattan, an African-American woman leans on her elbows and knees, wearing only black underpants. Scrawled in black marker all over her body are the words "Ain't I a Woman?" Across the street, another woman lies face down, sunbathing on a large sheet of tinfoil. The sentence "White Supremacy Is Terrorism" is inked across her white skin, which is turning pink under the hot sun.
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FEMEN’s Fight for Feminism in Spain
Practitioner:
FEMEN
Date:
Jun 11 2021
FEMEN is an organization that is revolutionizing the feminist movement. Founded in Ukraine in 2008 and adopted in Spain in 2013, FEMEN protests gender-based issues such as inequalities, violence, patriarchy, etc. Since its creation, it has spread to several other countries, and there have been hundreds of organized protests.
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A Legal Guide Helps Artists Make and Protect Protest Art
Practitioner:
Harvard University’s Cyberlaw Clinic and metaLAB
Date:
Jan 22 2018
Harvard University’s Cyberlaw Clinic and metaLAB have created a free guide for making protest art while navigating intellectual property law.
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White Clergy Spark Debate By Telling Cops #UseMeInstead For Target Practice
Practitioner:
General Populace, Clergy
Date:
Jan 15 2015
A group of clergy members wanted to change the conversation when they heard that a Florida police department was using mug shots of young black men as targets for shooting practice. “#UseMeInstead,” the religious leaders said, tweeting photos of themselves in hopes that their solidarity would cause cops to “think twice” before pulling the trigger. But the well-intentioned hashtag is provoking mixed responses.
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A Haunting Artistic Tribute to Garment Workers Killed in Bangladesh and the US
Practitioner:
Artist Rachel Breen, Poet Alison Morse
Date:
Apr 1 2018
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Exactly 1,281 white garments hang from the ceiling of the Perlman Teaching Museum’s Braucher Gallery. The collared shirts, knit sweaters, tights, and other items of clothing glow with an eerie luminosity.
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Wuming Art Collective
Practitioner:
Zhao Wenliang, Yang Yushu, Zhang Weu and fellows
Date:
Jan 1 1969
The Wuming Painting Collective, formed in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), was a clandestine group of artists who defied the authoritarian control over art and expression. In a time when all art was harnessed as propaganda to glorify the state and Chairman Mao, Wuming artists turned their gaze toward everyday life, painting still lifes, street scenes, human figures, and most iconically, serene landscapes.
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Drawing the line: meet the Romanian artist-activist tackling world crises one cartoon at a time
Practitioner:
Dan Perjovschi
Date:
Jan 1 2016
Dan Perjovschi is one of Romania’s foremost artistic voices. Although known as a talented multi-disciplinary artist in his home country, particularly for his early performance work, he is most widely known internationally for his massive drawing installations.
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