Projects tagged "Amplifies (issue or campaign)"

Brings public and political attention to an issue or campaign.  Can include prefigurative action, making the invisible visible.

Tamir Rice legacy shows how artists can sensitively engage with racially charged history
Practitioner:
Cleveland Museum of Art
Date:
Nov 24 2019
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Dana Schutz, the acclaimed New York artist who trained at the Cleveland Institute of Art, famously stirred controversy at the 2017 Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art with “Open Casket,’’ her painting depicting Emmett Till’s body in its coffin. Till, a black 14-year-old, was murdered and mutilated by white men in Mississippi in 1955 after having been falsely accused of flirting with a white woman.
Big Tech CEOs Become 7ft Capitol Rioters
Practitioner:
Sum Of Us
Date:
Mar 25 2021
As tech leaders faced tough questions from Congress, SumOfUs, an 18 million member advocacy organization, was right outside with a larger-than-life installation of the January 6th Capitol riot that shows the role Big Tech played in sparking the insurrection.
Shh
Practitioner:
33Wang
Date:
Aug 30 2019
A street photography exhibition located in Beijing’s most crowded tourist attractions, Dongsi Hutong, to get a voice the Chinese government’s censorship of art works in public space. To hedge the city’s regulation , the human body photography were displayed in the street stores of Dongsi Hutong.
Artist Rufina Bazlova uses embroidery as a form of ‘gentle protest’
Practitioner:
Rufina Bazlova
Date:
Jan 1 2020
Rufina Bazlova is not afraid to surrender her art to activism. Born in Belarus, a former Soviet republic ruled by the authoritarian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko for 29 years now, Bazlova knows all too well that being apolitical is a privilege many Eastern Europeans cannot afford. 2020 was a pivotal year for Belarus, not only because of the COVID-19 pandemic but also the presidential elections, which declared Lukashenko president for the sixth time.
How This Indigenous Model Is Using His Platform for Climate Activism
Practitioner:
Haatepah Clearbear
Date:
Jan 27 2020
Indigenous designers often use fashion to celebrate their culture and raise awareness around key issues affecting their community. Now, the spirit has come to the modeling world. Haatepah Clearbear is a full-time model, based in Los Angeles, who is using his platform to uplift his people. The 22-year-old’s personal Instagram page serves as a hub for his activism work, where he highlights everything from climate change to indigenous rights.
Fur in Madrid: Controversy and Critique
Practitioner:
Animanaturalis
Date:
Jan 21 2020
During a cold January morning in 2020, Animanaturalis, a nonprofit group focused on ending the suffering of animals across Spain and Latin America gathered to protest the use, production, and sale of fur in Spain. In a blog post on their website, the group discusses the horrid living conditions on fur farms as well as statistics and alternatives related to fur sales (Animanaturalis, n.d.).
The Absurdity of War: Banksy’s 'Love is in the Air'
Practitioner:
Banksy
Date:
Jun 15 2006
Love is in the Air is a quintessential Banksy painting. The image of a masked militant poised to hurl a bouquet of flowers has become synonymous with the artist's indelible graphic style. One of Banksy’s most coveted works on canvas, it is an archetypal example of the artist’s use of dark humour, satire, and his perceptive, stimulating commentaries on contemporary political and social events.
Yoko Ono, Cut Piece, 1964
Practitioner:
Yoko Ono
Date:
Jan 1 1964
In Cut Piece—one of Yoko Ono’s early performance works—the artist sat alone on a stage, dressed in her best suit, with a pair of scissors in front of her. The audience had been instructed that they could take turns approaching her and use the scissors to cut off a small piece of her clothing, which was theirs to keep. Some people approached hesitantly, cutting a small square of fabric from her sleeve or the hem of her skirt.
Fit For Work
Practitioner:
Void One
Date:
Jan 1 2018
Graffiti art is particularly viewed as a powerful form of social protest, and the (illegal) act of defacing can be as important as the message itself. Artist Void One has been arrested on numerous occasions for his politically-charged interventions. “I didn’t set out to make political art but art is a platform where I can vent my frustrations” – Void One.
Adrian Piper, Mythic Being, 1973 - 1975
Practitioner:
Adrian Piper
Date:
Jan 1 1973
Adrian Piper disguised her identity, changing her race, sex, and social class in order to experiment in public situations and gauge people’s reactions. She investigated how outwardly visible identity markers (like skin color) impacted others’ perceptions of her character. By manipulating her (apparent) identity to produce reactions, she demonstrated the power and influence of stereotypes (Piper, 1996).
‘Not Yours’
Practitioner:
Beata Kruszynski
Date:
May 1 0000
“My image was inspired by the #MeToo Revolution, my personal experiences with the male gaze and a healthy amount of frustration and repulsion. What I hope to convey in this image is the sense of verbal, physical and energetic male ownership that is placed on women in society.” — Beata Kruszynski is a freelance illustrator and art teacher in Ontario, Canada.
White paper protest
Practitioner:
Nanjing Media College Student; People in China
Date:
Nov 26 2022
The White Paper Movement was a large-scale, decentralized protest movement that erupted across China in late November 2022, initially sparked by a student demonstration at the Communication University of China, Nanjing.
"Stand Up, Sisters (《姐姐妹妹站起来》)": The Miserable Past of Chinese Prostitutes
Practitioner:
Xihe Chen (陈西禾)
Date:
Jan 1 1951
"Stand Up, Sisters" tells the story of a rural girl who journeys to Beijing for a family visit, only to be deceived and forced into prostitution, suffering unthinkable hardships. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, these women are rehabilitated. The narrative reaches its peak with her and her younger sisters' victorious achievement of self-reliance.
Photographer Shoog McDaniel celebrates fatness in all its glory
Practitioner:
Shoog McDaniel
Date:
Jan 1 2016
The Florida-based photographer and artist talks through their creative process, self-acceptance, and overcoming Instagram’s anti-nude algorithm
Monument #1
Practitioner:
Erka
Date:
Mar 22 2017
MONUMENT #1 is a series of sculptures by the Bulgarian artist and designer Erka, created in collaboration with Fine Acts. The work seeks to raise awareness about the lack of monuments honoring notable women in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria - a EU member state. The brightly-coloured busts were placed at some of the most central locations across Sofia during a covert early-morning action on Wednesday, March 22.
“Undanced Dances Through Prison Walls During a Pandemic”
Practitioner:
Dancing Through Prison Walls
Date:
Mar 24 2021
“Undanced Dances Through Prison Walls During a Pandemic” features six dances written inside a prison, a 35-minute dance film, and 11 artists (seven choreographic interpreters and four formerly incarcerated narrators) conversing on dancing in carceral spaces.
Richmond's new take on Robert E. Lee
Practitioner:
Black Lives Matter Protestors
Date:
Jun 5 2020
Over the winter break, I was actually able to see the recently re-decorated Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond, Virginia. After the height of the Black Lives Matter Protests over the past summer, it couldn’t be torn down, but it was fully wrapped with protest art. All phrases and slogans (such as Black Trans Lives Matter, ACAB, Etc.) were in full display over the statue of the infamous Confederate General.
Funk Lessons
Practitioner:
Adrian Piper
Date:
May 6 1982
Adrian Piper's "Funk Lessons" (1982-84) was a series of performances and collaborative events in which the artist taught white participants about black funk music, its culture, and its history, aiming to deconstruct stereotypical ideas about Black culture.
Four Dead in Ohio
Practitioner:
Neil Young, Students at Kent State University
Date:
May 1 1970
“Tin Soldiers and Nixon’s Coming. We’re finally on our own. This summer I hear the drumming. Four Dead in Ohio."
Books (Please)! In All Branches of Knowledge, 1924
Practitioner:
Alexander Rodchenko
Date:
Jul 8 1924
Seattle Times: In 1921, just four years after the Bolshevik Revolution, American journalist Albert Rhys Williams wrote: “The visitor to Russia is struck by the multitude of posters — in factories and barracks, on walls and railway-cars, on telegraph poles — everywhere.”
The Most Shocking Image I Can Remember Is Seeing Myself in the Mirror
Practitioner:
Ai Weiwei
Date:
Apr 3 2011
It can be important to reflect on the artistic recounts of activists experiences under state imprisonment. In a revealing interview with Artspace, Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei reflects on his 81-day secret detention in 2011 and the psychological strategies used to dismantle identity and autonomy.
Bad Bunny’s ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos’ is a form of activism
Practitioner:
bad bunny
Date:
Jan 1 2025
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, better known to the world as Bad Bunny, has once again proven that his artistry goes far beyond reggaeton and trap. On January 5, 2025 — the eve of Puerto Rico’s cherished Three Kings Day — the Puerto Rican superstar released DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, an album that both celebrates his homeland and delivers a sobering message about its uncertain future.
the Fundred Project
Practitioner:
Mel Chin
Date:
Jan 1 2008
The Fundred Dollar Bill Project, initiated by artist Mel Chin, is a collaborative art project aimed at raising awareness and mobilizing action against the environmental and health threat of lead contamination. It encourages individuals to create their own unique interpretations of $100 bills, symbolizing the value of human lives and the need for a lead-free future.
NYU Students' Response to COVID-19 Housing Closure
Practitioner:
NYU Student Body/NYU's Inter-Residential Hall Council
Date:
Mar 16 2020
This was a protest posted on Change.org in response to NYU's forced eviction deadline on students living in on-campus housing. The following was the information posted on the site: We, the undergraduate student body of New York University, strongly urge NYU to rescind the call for students to evacuate NYU residence halls before March 22nd.
"Trading With The Enemy": Duke Riley's Pigeon Cuban Cigar Smugglers
Practitioner:
Duke Riley
Date:
Aug 1 2013
The smuggling of illicit cargo and people has played a significant role in shaping the culture as well as the economy of the southernmost american city of Key West since its foundation in 1821.

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