Projects tagged "Activates (people)"

Energizes and organizes people into action. Can include emotion work
La Fiera en Sevilla
Practitioner:
Isaías Griñolo
Date:
Jan 1 2016
During the economic crisis of 2008, bankers in Spain took advantage of the economically disadvantaged, and the artwork La Fiera en Sevilla, or the Wild Animal in Sevilla in English, brings attention to this money-centric act from the bankers. La Fiera refers to the bankers at the time that used predatory methods in their actions to forcibly evict poor people from their houses.
Artists React to the Pandemic, George Floyd and the Election
Practitioner:
Patricia Dahlman
Date:
Jul 3 2020
“Artists React to the Pandemic, George Floyd and the Election”
The Root-Systemic Racism
Practitioner:
Danielle Cook
Date:
Jul 5 2020
"When it comes to the effects of the virus on black lives, the roots run deep. ⠀⠀ This is one of the hardest illustrations I’ve ever done. Not because of the tree - but because of the overwhelming nature of the subject at hand. Seeing headlines like “Blacks are Dying at Higher Rates from Covid-19” SHOOK me! ⠀⠀
Aboriginal Embassy, Richard Bell
Practitioner:
Richard Bell
Date:
Jan 1 2013
Richard Bell has often called himself ‘an activist masquerading as an artist’. Aboriginal journalist and radio broadcaster Daniel Browning has suggested that Bell is also ‘a megaphone.
London’s “Free Butt Plug Catalogue” Confronts Hostile Architecture
Practitioner:
A Chinese Artist
Date:
May 16 2025
Hostile architecture—urban design features like ground spikes that deter the homeless from lying down or slanted benches that prevent lingering—inscribes exclusion into our streets. In response, a Chinese artist will launch the Free Butt Plug Catalogue, an art-activism project that documents fifteen such spikes and anti–loitering benches across London and pairs each with a commercially available butt plug of the same shape.
Painting homes to strengthen a community
Practitioner:
Pintando Santa Catarina Palopó
Date:
Nov 15 2017
Nestled on the banks of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, Santa Catarina Palopó is a small town brimming with vibrant colors and stunning natural views. Despite its natural beauty and cultural heritage, the community struggled with economic development and poverty for years until they had the opportunity to harness the power of art and transform the town.
Perigives
Practitioner:
Erin Da Eun Song
Date:
Jan 1 2019
The public bathrooms at Penn Station in New York City are a dirty, depressing place. But now, there’s a bright spot: a poster that encourages women to donate menstrual products, like pads or tampon, to help the many homeless women who frequent the bathroom.
TIME OF THE POET:Second Name of Earth is PEACE.
Practitioner:
Mbizo Chirasha
Date:
Jan 16 0020
MOTHER EARTH is broken from incessant decadent wars carelessly perpetuated by mindless ,vicious political imbeciles. Our natural wealth plundered by greedy ,gluttonous economic dare-devils, imbibing crude oil and fresh blood . Warlord-ism set the suns of our freedom, our earth is torn naked . War is ravaging the beauty of African diamond fields ,We are now Wretched Vagabonds . Warlords are frying peace in oil springs of the Gulf.
Law of the Journey
Practitioner:
Ai Weiwei
Date:
Mar 16 2017
The exhibition Law of the Journey is Ai Weiwei’s multi-layered, epic statement on the human condition: an artist’s expression of empathy and moral concern in the face of continuous, uncontrolled destruction and carnage.
CONVICTED KILLER WINS BEAUTY PAGEANT IN WOMEN'S PRISON
Practitioner:
The Instituto Penal Talavera
Date:
Dec 6 2019
In its thirteenth year, the annual Miss Talavera Bruce beauty pageant is held in unlikely surroundings: a women’s prison in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Instituto Penal Talavera is the only maximum-security women’s prison in the city with inmates serving life sentences for murder, fraud and drug trafficking.
Land O Rape Culture Stickers Replace Land O Lakes Butter Packaging
Practitioner:
Recycled Propaganda
Date:
Feb 4 2018
Stickers imitating the Land O Lakes Butter packaging are being placed in grocery stores over the original packaging. The packaging has been altered to say "Land O Rape - Culture" by street artist Recycled Propaganda.
Student flash mobs in Thailand
Practitioner:
students
Date:
Sep 20 2020
"Thai artists and art students are on the frontline of their country’s swelling pro-democracy movement, calling for reforms of Thailand’s military-backed government, and breaking both taboo and national law to criticise the nation’s monarchy.
The Wheelbarrow
Practitioner:
The Wheelbarrow Collective
Date:
May 1 2020
Empathy may be the cornerstone of any Global Justice movement, but how do we cultivate the conditions for empathy to thrive? The wheelbarrow symbolises something universally useful, practical and pleasingly straightforward. A space to deliver things in an efficient and direct manner - no packaging and completely people powered.
The Dance Union
Practitioner:
Melanie Greene, J. Bouey
Date:
Jun 1 2020
Through their podcast, The Dance Union, Melanie Greene and J. Bouey have been confronting racism in the dance world, and highlighting the experiences of Black artists, since 2018. Their episodes cover a variety of topics and issues, ranging from mental health and sexual harassment to advocating for fair pay.
La Casa Invisible Protests Against Gentrification
Practitioner:
La Casa Invisible
Date:
Dec 3 2002
La Casa Invisible project was started in 2007 in Malaga, Spain, when a group of socially involved participants squatted in a run-down building, aiming to eventually claim the legal rights to the property (Moor & Smart, 2016). The space was opened to local artists and creators, quickly becoming a hub for free local music, performances, and seminars as well as creating an important meeting space for social groups (Moor & Smart, 2016).
The Hunting Ground
Practitioner:
Chain Camera Pictures
Date:
Feb 27 2015
The Hunting Ground Is Shifting the Culture on Campuses Despite the white noise campaign to discredit, there has been tremendous and unprecedented progress in new campus policies and regulations. The backlash claims that some of the campus rape date was exaggerated or simply false has been disproved over and over again.
Trek the Vote
Practitioner:
Trek the Vote
Date:
Nov 5 2024
We are a grassroots movement of Star Trek fans volunteering with non-partisan, pro-democracy groups nationwide. Our team of thousands of "Starfleet officers" volunteer with our partner organizations to support voting rights, improve election transparency, and help elections administrators meet their staffing needs.
#Protect Girls Project -- Anti-surrogacy Stickers
Practitioner:
Date:
Jan 19 2021
Many girls in China may have seen the advertisements of egg donation as a surrogate, in hospitals, schools, public toilets, shared bikes, ATMs...... They are everywhere and the number of this kind of advertisements is large. Though there are lots of girls who have never seen such advertisements or would never believe in them, there would still be some girls who would dial the numbers on the advertisements.
The Utopia of 20 Minutes Embrace
Practitioner:
Gao Brothers from China
Date:
Sep 11 2007
On the afternoon of September 11th, nearly a hundred people hugged each other to feel the beauty of the hug on the Paris Square in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, under the leadership of the Chinese artist Gao Brothers. At the beginning of the event, the Germans have not yet adapted to the behavior of embracing strangers, but encouraged by Gao brothers, people have opened their arms and gave the strangers around them a warm hug.
Coco Fusco and Paula Heredia’s The Couple in the Cage: Guatinaui Odyssey
Practitioner:
Coco Fusco and MoMA
Date:
Jan 1 1993
The Couple in the Cage documents the travelling performance of Guillermo Gómez -Peña and Coco Fusco, in which they exhibited themselves as caged Amerindians from an imaginary island. While the artists’ intent was to create a satirical commentary on the notion of discovery, they soon realized that many of their viewers believed the fiction, and thought the artists were real “savages”.
For China’s Halloween of Discontent, He Went as a Surveillance Camera
Practitioner:
Wenxin Fan, Rachel Liang, Shen Lu, WSJ
Date:
Nov 1 2023
Several nights of Halloween celebration in Shanghai provided a vivid, if indirect, commentary this week on the malaise gripping the world’s second-largest economy.
Seaspiracy
Practitioner:
Ali Tabrizi
Date:
Mar 24 2021
"Passionate about ocean life, a filmmaker sets out to document the harm that humans do to marine species - and uncovers alarming global corruption."
Guerilla Girls, Do Women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum?, 1989
Practitioner:
Guerilla Girls
Date:
Jan 1 1989
The Guerilla Girls are a group of feminist activist artists, who use facts, humor, and outrageous visuals to expose gender and ethnic bias and corruption in politics, art, film, and pop culture in their artworks. In 1989, they designed this billboard for the Public Art Fund (PAF) in New York, aimed to criticize the museum institutions for under-representing female artists and objectifying women.
STITCHING TOGETHER: GARMENT WORKERS IN SOLIDARITY
Practitioner:
Taslima Akhter, Magnum Foundation
Date:
Sep 12 2018
On April 24, 2013, more than 1,000 lives were taken in the Rana Plaza Collapse. While history remembers this tragic event as the deadliest garment factory accident, activist and photographer Taslima Akhter reveals a story of dreams crushed by structural murder. Dedicating her career to the lives and struggles of garment workers in Bangladesh, she has continued to foster a community rallying together for safer working conditions.
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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