On Christmas day in 1993, kids were finding more than they bargained for under their trees: Mattel’s new talking Barbie dolls growled “Dead men tell no lies,” while Hasbro’s macho GI Joe’s chirped “I love to shop with you.”
John Shore and his wife Catherine had been attending the First Presbyterian Church of San Diego for six years when they were nominated to serve as deacons. But before they could be ordained, they were asked to sign a document agreeing that no person in a same-sex relationship should hold any position of authority within the church, which is one of the city’s oldest. It was 1990.
Matthew Shepard was attacked by Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson on October 7, 1998, the victim of an anti-gay hate crime. He was pronounced dead on October 12th. Shepard's funeral was protested by Fred Phelps, notorious leader of the Westboro Baptist Church. The protesters bore signs with phrases such as, "God hates Fags", "No tears for Queens", and "Fag Matt in hell".
Christine Sun Kim's series Degrees of My Deaf Rage is a series of charcoal drawings of charts that depict the artist's varying degrees of what she calls "deaf rage." These frustrations are categorized by situations: deaf rage in the art world. institutional deaf rage, deaf rage concerning interpreters, deaf rage while traveling, deaf rage within educational settings, deaf rage in everyday situations.
On November twelfth, 2008, over 80,000 copies of a replica of the New York Times were distributed in several cities around the United States. The paper included 14 pages of “best case scenario” news set nine months in the future.
See the The New York Times Special Edition website.
We’re proud to announce the third iteration of Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects, an ongoing series of exhibitions organized by Chris E. Vargas, Executive Director of the Museum of Transgender Hirstory & Art!
For this iteration Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects brings together art and archival material from University of Victoria’s world-renowned Transgender Archives to narrate an expansive and critical history of transgender communities.
We Animals is an ambitious project which documents, through photography, animals in the human environment. Humans are as much animal as the sentient beings we use for food, clothing, research, experimentation, work, entertainment, slavery and companionship. With this as its premise, We Animals aims to break down the barriers that humans have built which allow us to treat nonhuman animals as objects and not as beings with moral significance.
"Project Black Mask HK (PBMHK) was founded by a (then) 18-year-old, Joyce Ho, who is an American-born Hong Konger. On May 28, 2020, during a peak of the Coronavirus Pandemic, many people expressed frustration with their inability to protest on the streets (of the United States) in support of the freedom and democracy for Hong Kong. PBMHK became a space where people could do exactly that.
In the fall of 2011, Urbano’s teen artists and artist-in-residence Neil Horsky partnered with professional artists,
educators, librarians, and historians to undertake a critical investigation of
Boston’s Freedom Trail. During the
investigative process teen artists questioned the assumptions, accuracy,
comprehensiveness, and impartiality of public presentations of the city’s
The Fourth of July is upon us, so it’s time once again to sing what is arguably our most baffling national ditty, “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” Maybe you’ve noticed: Some of the lyrics seem like the work of a prankster on acid. Who else could have conceived a vignette as bizarre as a man riding a pony into town, then sticking a feather in his cap that, for unknown reasons, he insists on calling “macaroni”?
The Youth Activist Art Archive (YAAA) is a dedicated platform that highlights and celebrates the creative efforts of young individuals (26 years old and younger) actively participating in diverse social movements and causes. YAAA acknowledges the vital role and innovative vision of young activists who employ their artistic talents to envision and advocate for a brighter future.
The Dinner Party, an important icon of 1970s feminist art and a milestone in twentieth-century art, is presented as the centerpiece around which the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art is organized. The Dinner Party comprises a massive ceremonial banquet, arranged on a triangular table with a total of thirty-nine place settings, each commemorating an important woman from history.
"Late last night, an autonomous group of activists placed posters throughout the subway system, blocking out advertisements with their own materials protesting Israel's bombing campaign in Gaza.
Introduction: The Ambulatory Free States of Obsidia
The Ambulatory Free States of Obsidia is a tiny, Matriarchal, Micro-nation located at the confluence of feminism and geography.
Grand Marshal Yagjian's Great Vision for The Ambulatory Free States of Obsidia came in 2015 when its land claim was 'liberated' from a former lover’s house for a greater purpose.
Documentarian Clayton Patterson captured video of police brutality during the Tompkins Square Park riots in the summer of 1988. When District Attorney Robert Morgenthau ordered Patterson to hand over his camera and tapes as evidence, Patterson refused, citing distrust of the criminal justice system. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail, but after a 10-day hunger strike, his lawyers negotiated a deal to free him.
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.
When Rage Against the Machine arrived in Philadelphia to play their 15-minute set as part of Lollapalooza ’93, the Los Angeles band knew they had a problem. Zack de la Rocha, the band’s incendiary frontman who was as outspoken on the mic as he was loud in his cadence, had no voice. A month of playing shows on a tour to support their self-titled debut album released the previous November had taken its toll on the frontman’s vocal cords.
From an article in BoredPanda:
"If you’ve ever felt like your voice and opinion doesn’t matter in the vast world, then Seth is here to prove you wrong. This New Yorker runs the ‘Dude With Sign’ Instagram account where he uploads photos of himself protesting the strangest, weirdest, most random things. And the best thing is, we can relate to most of what he’s written on his signs.
Grey wolves have had a tumultuous relationship with their human neighbors in the Pacific Northwest for more than a hundred years. From nearly being wiped out from the continent, Canadian grey wolves started being reintroduced to the wilderness in the U.S.'s Northern Rockies as early as 1995. The wolves were (and continue to be) placed in areas dense with wilderness and potential prey.
Another incredible artist determined to change the world for animals is Dana Ellyn. This DC-based artist started being a full-time painter in 2002 after leaving a corporate job. Her paintings do not shy away from showing the exploitation of animals, as well as critiquing society in general. Her paintings are meant to start a conversation, and they are certainly doing that as effective advocacy for animals.
On Sunday, September 16th at around 1am, a white van—labelled with “Van Wagner’s” blue logo and topped by a yellow strobe light—circled through permanently lit Times Square. Inside the vehicle, the driver and passenger, both dressed as construction workers, were nervous. They had just vandalized one kiosk a few yards away from an NYPD tower, now they were about to hit another one right underneath the nose of a large white NYPD security camera.