Projects tagged "Civil Liberties"

How Serbian activists started a nationwide anti-authoritarian protest during COVID-19 lockdown
Practitioner:
Civic Front
Date:
May 1 2020
For the past few years around election time in Serbia, people have taken to the streets to protest government corruption, attacks on free press and voter suppression. This Spring, despite a nationwide lock-down to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, activists are finding new ways to protest the country’s increasingly-repressive government.
Brinco
Practitioner:
Judith Werthein
Date:
Jan 11 2005
Creative Time, Social Practice Archive: Brinco is an art project, product, and intervention created by the Argentinean artist Judith Werthein for the 2005 inSITE Biennial held on the border of Tijuana and San Diego. Brinco—Spanish for "jump"—is a specially designed shoe the artist created for illegal migrant workers and immigrants who navigate the border region at night.
Art Behind Bars: Prison Art by Soudabeh Ardavan
Practitioner:
Soudabeh Ardavan
Date:
Nov 30 1985
Charged with participating in demonstrations against the Islamic Republic of Iran, Soudabeh Ardavan was held for eight years (1981-1989) in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison. She found sanity and solace through the forbidden activities of drawing and painting, secretly producing paint from flower petals and tea, using brushes made from toothpicks and human hair.
All Eyes on 'Sparrow': Documenting the Dangers of Activism in China
Practitioner:
Nanfu Wang/ Haiyan Ye
Date:
May 1 2013
Nanfu Wang feels safe in New York. Surveillance, that essential preoccupation of the documentarian in America, is a chokehold from which she has been temporarily released. From her Brooklyn apartment, the Chinese filmmaker prepares for the release of her debut feature documentary, Hooligan Sparrow.
Lambrakis LivZ
Practitioner:
Stefanos Mondelos, Spyros Zoupanos, Nafsika Tzanou
Date:
Oct 20 2012
The performance, “Lambrakis LivZ”, concerns the re-enactment of the political speech of Grigoris Lambrakis given in Athens in 1962. Grigoris Lambrakis was a peace-activist, assassinated by a paramilitary plot on June 1963 at Thessaloniki, Greece.
A Viral Dance and ‘Happiness Campaign’ Frustrates Iran’s Clerics
Practitioner:
Date:
Dec 16 2023
It all started when a 70-year-old fish market stall owner nicknamed “Booghy” was grooving in public, in violation of Iranian law. A new form of protest against the government is rocking Iran: a viral dance craze set to an upbeat folk song where crowds clap and chant the rhythmic chorus, ‘oh, oh, oh, oh.’
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.
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:
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).
Protest against Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
Practitioner:
Sarah Constantin
Date:
Jan 28 2016
A Femen activist, Sarah Constantin, is hanged from a noose-like rope from a Paris bridge to call attention to the large number of executions in Iran as she stages a protest against visiting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Paris, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016. A near-naked woman hanging from a noose-like rope from a Paris bridge has sent a message to visiting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
Sit-Down Strike for Rhythm
Practitioner:
Rhythm Ambassadors
Date:
Oct 5 2017
At the New Orleans Swing Dance Festival the all African-American dance troupe The Rhythm Ambassadors were presented along side an African-American iteration of the Preservation Hall All-Star band with African-American vocalist Taryn Newborne to deliver the message that the African-American Lindy Hoppers were going to be protest until their rhythm is better presented...i.e.
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.
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.
Hologram Protest
Practitioner:
Holograms for Freedom
Date:
Apr 10 2015
Late last year the Spanish government passed a law that set extreme fines for protesters convening outside of government buildings. In response to the controversial Citizen Safety Law, which will take effect on July 1, Spanish activists have staged the world's first ever virtual political demonstration.
A Straight Journey: days and nights in their kingdom
Practitioner:
Masamojo
Date:
Apr 23 2015
A Straight Journey is a documentary of Chinese homosexual people. It is the first time for Chinese gays and lesbians to make their debut and speak out via one of the largest Chinese Internet service providers. Two Chinese photographers Masa and Mojo took a journey across 11 China's cities making portraits of 48 gays, lesbians and their families from 2014-2015.
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.
A fashion protester crashed the dior spring 2021 show
Practitioner:
a member of Extinction Rebellion
Date:
Jan 25 2021
PARIS — At the end of the Dior fashion shown in Paris last September, a woman got up from the audience and walked down the runway carrying a yellow banner painted with the words “We Are All Fashion Victims.”
Smuggling Books Across The Border
Practitioner:
Leila Abdelrazaq on ForThePeople
Date:
Apr 1 2016
For the People Artists Collective is a collaborative network of radical artists of color in Chicago.
Federal Trade Commission demands Elon Musk 'identify all journalists' who had access to Twitter Files
Practitioner:
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Date:
Mar 7 2023
he Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is demanding Elon Musk turn over internal Twitter documents, including a list of the journalists who were behind the viral "Twitter Files." The Wall Street Journal first reported Tuesday about more than a dozen letters the FTC sent to Twitter and its legal counsel as part of a probe looking into Musk's 2022 takeover of the tech giant.
Gandhi's Salt March to the Sea
Practitioner:
Mahatma Gandhi
Date:
Mar 1 1930
In 1930, the Indian National Congress adopted satyagraha (essentially, nonviolent protest) as their main tactic in their campaign for independence. Mahatma Gandhi was appointed to develop a plan of action; he proposed marching to the sea to make salt in defiance of the Salt Act of 1882.
Olivia Rodrigo's Fund 4 Good
Practitioner:
Olivia Rodrigo, National Network of Abortion Funds
Date:
Mar 12 2024
In conjunction with the GUTS world tour, Olivia has launched Olivia Rodrido’s Fund 4 Good, a global initiative committed to building an equitable and just future for all women, girls and people seeking reproductive health freedom. A portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales at the GUTS world tour will go towards the Fund 4 Good.
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.
Pussy Riot Bring Their Music and Activism To Montreal
Practitioner:
Pussy Riot
Date:
Nov 1 2023
Pussy Riot are spreading their protests and activism beyond Russia. Away from Vladimir Putin’s censorship, they’re bringing their voices to Canada – a place where their message of resistance is resonating. On Nov. 1, as a chilling cold filled the streets of Montreal, Pussy Riot kicked off the North American leg of their Riot Days tour with a sold out show at the Rialto Theatre. The tension in the room was palpable.
Activist Hangs Herself in Protest
Practitioner:
FEMEN
Date:
Jan 28 2016
A topless activist staged a mock hanging from a bridge in Paris, to protest against the visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The protester, from international women's rights group Femen, hung from the bridge in an execution-style demonstration on 28 January 2016. She had an Iranian flag painted on her chest.
untitled (tattoo, 2025)
Practitioner:
Jenny Holzer
Date:
Jan 31 2025
tattoo on someone's thigh which reads "FEAR IS THE MOST ELEGANT WEAPON. YOUR HANDS ARE NEVER MESSY. THREATENING HARM IS CRUEL. WORK INSTEAD ON MINDS AND BELIEFS. PLAY INSECURITIES LIKE A PIANO. BE CREATIVE IN APPROACH. FORCE ANXIETY TO EXCRUCIATING LEVELS OR GENTLY UNDERMINE THE PUBLIC CONFIDENCE. PANIC DRIVES HUMAN HERDS OVER CLIFFS; AN ALTERNATIVE IS TERROR-INDUCED IMMOBILIZATION. FEAR FEEDS ON FEAR. PUT THIS EFFICIENT PROCESS IN MOTION.

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