Main Gallery

People's Tours: A social history of the South End walking tour
Practitioner:
People's Tours
Date:
Jun 16 2012
In early 2012, a group of artists, activists and assorted other odd balls got together to form People's Tours. The idea was to give walking tours in the Boston area. Standard enough. But instead of the usual history, we would talk about social justice, contested spaces, important protests, and shady corporations. So far, the group has consisted of Dave Taber, Heather McCann, Kristin Parker, Neil Horsky, and Tim Devin.
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How Snowden Canceled the 4th of July Diplomatic Reception in Bolivia
Practitioner:
Julian Assange
Date:
Jul 2 2013
On July 2nd, 2013, after attending the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) conference, Bolivian President Evo Morales departed Russia from Vnukovo Airport in Moscow aboard his presidential plane. However, a "leak" suggested that Edward Snowden was aboard, which led Spain, France, and Portugal to close their airspace to the aircraft, to then be grounded in Austria.
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2015 Die-In Protest Against Gender Violence
Practitioner:
Women in Black of Madrid
Date:
Sep 2 2015
On September 2nd 2015, a die-in protest to advocate against gender violence was carried out by a group called Women in Black (Olmedilla, 2015). This form of protest was likely inspired by other die-in protests in Spain and represented Spanish women who have died due to domestic violence (DV). A group of women dressed in black clothing gathered on the streets of Madrid. One by one they fell to the ground and lay there, acting dead.
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Myanmar coup: How citizens are protesting through art
Practitioner:
Myanmar's citizens
Date:
Feb 7 2021
"An atmosphere of fear and anger spread across Myanmar this week as millions of people awoke to find out the military had taken control, ousting the elected government. But how do you fight back in a country where protests have been violently suppressed before? For some, it has meant putting pen to paper and taking the battle online.
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Battleground
Practitioner:
Kwesi Thomas and Mark Bone
Date:
Apr 21 2021
The opening lines of this week’s Staff Pick Premiere, “Battleground,” by Kwesi Thomas and Mark Bone examine how skin color has become just that…a battleground. The short captures the particular discomfort of having to argue for one’s value in a society that should care instead of question. Kwesi, a Black man, powerfully conveys these feelings to his co-director Mark, a white man, in the wake of George Floyd’s death last May.
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Activists Use Balloons to Drop 10,000 Copies of The Interview Into North Korea
Practitioner:
Park Sang-Hak
Date:
Mar 26 2015
A group of South Korean activists is determined to send copies of The Interview across the North Korean border, despite threats from the state to respond with “cannons or missiles” if the plan succeeds.
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On Abortion
Practitioner:
Laia Abril
Date:
Apr 28 2017
On Abortion documents and conceptualises the dangers and damages caused by women’s lack of legal, safe and free access to abortion
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José Bové dismantles a McDonald's
Practitioner:
Andreja Kulunčić, Ahmet Ögüt
Date:
Aug 12 1999
José Bové, a sheep farmer/activist in Aveyron in the Midi-Pyrénées region of France, is a modern day Astérix, a mythical Gaul who drubbed foreign intruders centuries ago. In Bové's case, the intruder was McDonald's, the American fast food chain.
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Monopoly Man
Practitioner:
Ian Madrigal
Date:
Dec 10 2018
On Tuesday morning, when Google CEO Sundar Pichai testified before the House Judiciary Committee about his company’s data collection practices, there was a familiar mustachioed face in the crowd. To most people, this person — also wearing a monocle and toting a bag of cash — is none other than the famous board game character most commonly known as Monopoly Man.
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Equity and Access: Art & Protest in Spain
Practitioner:
El Rey de la Ruina
Date:
Jul 10 2022
Spanish street artist El Rey de la Ruina uses murals and installations to critique inequality and government policies. His works, especially during the pandemic, voiced concerns over healthcare, housing, and public resources in Madrid’s urban spaces.
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No Pride in Incarceration!
Practitioner:
QLatinx, Familia TQML
Date:
Jun 24 2021
❗❗PRIDE REQUIRES ACTION❗❗ Celebrating Pride? What better way to uplift LGBTQ people’s lives than by joining our campaign to #EndTransDetention? Honor the legacy of Pride by taking action until all of us are free. Sign here & share with 3 friends: https://www.endtransdetentions.org/petition
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Radio Ambulante
Practitioner:
Radio Ambulante
Date:
Apr 10 2015
Radio Ambulante is an award-winning podcast and audio series co-founded by novelist Daniel Alarcón in 2012. Described by many commentators as a Spanish-language This American Life, Radio Ambulante publishes stories from “everywhere Spanish is spoken,” reaching as many as 60,000 listeners worldwide per episode.
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Decomposable Barbie
Practitioner:
Barbie Liberation Organization
Date:
Aug 1 2023
Barbie Hoax Targets Mattel and Fools Some News Outlets The false campaign by environmental activists claimed that the toy giant was launching a new line of decomposable Barbies and would stop using plastic by 2030.
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In Belarus, Theater as Activism
Practitioner:
THE FREE THEATER
Date:
Oct 4 2005
By DAVID L. STERN, in The New York Times Published: September 22, 2009
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Movimento Vem Pra Rua (Come to the Streets)
Practitioner:
Rogério Chequer / People in Brazil
Date:
Dec 1 2014
Vem Pra Rua is a nonpartisan, democratic, and pluralist movement that emerged in response to society’s fight for a better Brazil. Brazilians of all regions, social classes, and ages began mobilizing at the end of 2014—building on the 2013 marches that protested corruption, inequality, and other socio-economic and political problems.
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Activists Pour Porridge and Spray Soup on Queen Victoria Sculptures in Glasgow to Protest Cost of Living
Practitioner:
This Is Rigged
Date:
Mar 3 2024
Activists poured porridge and jam on a marble bust of Queen Victoria and sprayed fire extinguishers filled with soup onto a large bronze statue of the monarch during two recent protests in Glasgow, Scotland. The group, called This Is Rigged, claimed responsibility for the two protests, which took place inside the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum at noon on March 3 and at George Square at 10:45 am local time on March 4.
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New Craft Artists in Action
Practitioner:
New Craft Artists in Action, Team Captain Maria Molteni, Institute for Infinitely Small Things, Office of Culture and Design (Manila)
Date:
Dec 22 2012
Maria was psyched to travel to the Philippines where her hand-made basketball nets were well received. Invited with the Institute for Infinitely Small Things (Boston/Mass based) by Clara Balaguer and the Office of Culture and Design (Manila) she worked in Zamboanga City with students of Western Mindanao State University to carry out a 6 day arts and activism workshop.
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What the Skirt Lifts
Practitioner:
Arthur Moinet/Academie De Nantes
Date:
May 16 2014
"What the Skirt Lifts", created by a student in France, is a day long protest against gender discrimination where male and female students were encouraged to wear skirts to school.
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Protests continue against Netanyahu's government legal reform plans in Israel
Practitioner:
Israeli Demonstrators
Date:
Feb 5 2023
TEL AVIV Thousands of people took to the streets in Israeli cities Saturday for a fifth straight week to protest the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concerning proposed judicial reforms. Demonstrators from non-governmental organizations, lawyers, and technology sectors staged the protests/ Police closed roads leading to squares in Tel Aviv during the day and took security measures in the surrounding area.
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Circus Amok
Practitioner:
Jennifer Miller
Date:
Jan 1 1989
Circus Amok is a New York City based circus-theater company whose mission is to provide free public art addressing contemporary issues of social justice to the people of New York City.
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