"Los Palcos del Descubridor" (The Discoverer's Box Seats) was a project created by Sebastian Burga and José Aburto in 2012 that consisted of a large-scale installation on the street and a media campaign on the Internet.
The work simulated the upcoming construction of an apartment building that would replace Lima's Teatro Colón, a historical landmark.
The project generated great attention from the press, neighbors, and social media. More than 500 calls were received requesting an apartment.
Since 1914, the Colón Theater has been one of the most important buildings in the city. Yet today, it is just an abandoned shell. This contrasts with a city looking for vertical growth opportunities due to a real estate boom, a process that came hand in hand with the gentrification of previously abandoned spaces.
The work was ironic, using the concept of Christopher Columbus and turning the Teatro Colón into "The Discoverer's Box Seats" with an architectural design in the shape of corn, a plant native to the Americas. The main piece was a 6-meter-high poster that covered the theater and announced the future building.
Additionally, as part of the work, a movement was created on social media against the building called "No al Choclo Colón," which generated controversy about the need to respect historical spaces in the city.
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What if All the News Was Good News Today? — On November 12, 2008, over 80,000 copies of a replica of the New York Times were distributed in several cities around the United States. The ”New York Times Special Edition” paper included 14 pages of “best case scenario” news set nine months in the future. It was distributed in November 2008, but dated July 4, 2009, and instead of the motto “All the News That’s Fit to Print” it read “All the News We Hope to Print.” The paper included World, National, Business, and Local sections with hypothetical headlines like “Maximum Wage Law Passes Congress,” “USA Patriot Act Repealed",” and “All Public Universities To Be Free.”
Each story provided a fictional history of how such a thing could happen on such a timeline through grassroots pressure using real-world details. Because The Special Edition was a tangible newspaper it transported people to a parallel world. For a few moments, in the minds of the readers, hopes and dreams became real news.
Click the link in our bio to check this and other examples in our user-generated collection of artistic actions.
❤️ The Kiss of Love campaign in India was a non-violent protest against moral policing. It started as a Facebook page in 2014 but gained momentum across India when a mob of conservative, right-wing party members attacked and demolished a coffee shop in Kozhikode, Kerala. Their grounds to do so was the public display of affection by couples inside the coffee shop, which they saw as an immoral activity.
The campaign occurred in the context of several young couples being arrested or abused because of kissing openly; protests by conservative parties against Valentine's Day; and leaders of these parties threatening to forcibly get couples celebrating Valentine's Day married.
The campaign brought protesters onto the street to kiss openly in the face of police brutality and political forces like extreme right-wing parties claiming to protect "Indian culture and sensibilities" from Western influences. The Kiss of Love matches and demonstrations across India also saw a lot of LGBTQ presence, publicly opposing the antiquated Article 377 that renders homosexuality and same-sex marriages illegal in India.
Click the link in our bio to learn more about this example in Actipedia, our open database of artistic activism examples.
Do you know about the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (CIRCA)?
CIRCA emerged from the direct action movement and has participated in protests against George W. Bush's visit to the UK in 2003 and demonstrations against the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
CIRCA worked with professional clowns to develop a methodology, rebel clowning, that introduced play and games into political organizing. They developed a series of training that encouraged activists to reprogram their bodies, to develop their intuition, and to “find their clown” — a childlike state of generosity and spontaneity. Rebel clown training attempted to peel off the activist armor and find the vulnerable human within.
Click the link to learn more about them in Actipedia and to upload your own examples of artistic activism!
Photo: @wikipedia
What’s a new, effective way to encourage young BIPOC voter turnout? In Texas, a group of 15-year-olds turned their quinceañeras into just that. Last week, these young Latinas led their families and friends along the streets of San Antonio to urge them to harness their electoral voice and vote. The parade ended with voter registration and early voting — not for the 15-year-olds, but for those in their parties who were of age and eligible. As one of the organizers shared, it was connecting one rite of passage — the quinceañera — with the rite of passage that comes with voting, highlighting the cultural relevance and power of both.
📷 by Samanta Helou Hernandez, courtesy of Harness and Jolt Initiative, via @prismreports .
Click the link in our bio to learn more about this action and access Actipedia, @thec4aa 's open database of creative activism examples!
An entry in @Actipedia , @thec4aa 's database of creative activism projects, features SuperBarrio and mentions his impact on #votingrights at a transnational level.
“Against systemic corruption, to win was not enough and the social movement had to reach beyond the US/Mexican border. In order to do so, Superbarrio made his first US tour promoting the possibility of Mexicans, living on the US side of the border, to vote for Mexican president. After all, their income has contributed to the Mexican economy 13 thousand million dollars in economic gross. Superbarrio promoted a political imaginary in which voting-- a fundamental right of citizenship-- could be exercised across national borders.”
The entry also includes a link to Superbarrios speech at Dartmouth College in 1996.
Click the link in our bio to access our database and search for this and other examples.
📷 : Photo of Superbarrio by Italo Rondinellla (@italo_rondinella )
Yes, this sign is real.
After the manager of a Lincoln, Nebraska Burger King put in her two weeks notice, most the staff followed suit. The workers were responding to unresolved poor working conditions, including a lack of air conditioning that put the kitchen at temperatures at the upwards of 90’ F.
They left this message for upper management.
These workers were responding to the “labor shortage” in America, which many have argued is not a labor shortage at all but rather a “wages and benefits shortage.”
The next day, upper management changed the sign to say “Now Hiring.”
Thanks to @workingfamilies for putting this on our radar.
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#artisticactivism #laborrights #burgerking
Last week in Philly, @blmphilly & @bringmumiahome held a rally to honor the spirit of the recently deceased Consuewella Africa - MOVE’s former minister of confrontation whose daughters were killed in the 1985 police bombings - and to advocate for Mumia Abu-Jamal and other political prisoner’s release.
The rally featured an incredible 16-foot puppet of Mumia, designed by Jaqueline Wade and Little Wolf.
📷: Joe Piette
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#artisticactivism #actipedia #puppetry #freemumia #creativeactivism #consuewellaafrica #MOVE
Juvenile has revived his classic club banger for a good cause.
He’s teamed up with the dating app BLK for a PSA encouraging vaccination.
On the track, Mannie Fresh spits, “I love it when you hold me / eggplant emoji / you can be the young hot thing / I’ll be the OG” & Juvenile reminds us that before you “go on a date yeah / you gotta wait yeah / gotta go vaccinate yeah / get it straight yeah.”
Get out there and #vaxthatthangup 😎
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#smashwithscott #vaccine #vaccination #artisticactivism #musicactivism #vax #vaxxed💉 #vaxxedandwaxed #vaxxedgirlsummer
St. Paul’s Cathedral in Saskatchewan, Canada - #radicalgraffiti in response to the 751 graves of indigenous adults and children found at the Marieval Residential School.
Via @radicalgraffiti
Interrupting our #freethevaccine Friday to take a look at #freebritneyfriday
Britney Spears’ testimony this week incited critical analysis of sterilization, medical dehumanization, and ableism and the disproportionate treatment of men and women under conservatorship.
Many protested in support of Britney. Have you seen any particularly creative actions surrounding this topic? Let us know!
Something about the interplay of softness/hardness here has us inspired ✊🦋
A reminder that the body itself is political; the messenger & the message deeply intertwined.
Happy #pridemonth 🌈✨
Via @lgbt_history from @lambdaarchives
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#pride #pridemonth #lgbtqia #lgbtq #activism #artisticactivism #actipedia #lgbtqiahistory
