Artivism

Artivist is a portmanteau word combining "art" and "activist". Artivism developed in recent years while the anti-globalization and antiwar protests emerged and proliferated. In most of the cases artivists attempt to push political agendas by the means of art. Yet this is not political art as it was known before, in the sense of artworks being political. The artivist is often involved in Streetart or Urban Art, Adbusting or Subvertising.

Banksys "Bomb-hugger"

John Fekner Madison Avenue, NYC

In some cases, Paris in 2003 for instance, artivists were arrested for acts of political art that verged on property destruction. A typical short term goal of artivists is to reclaim public space, especially by subvertising or destroying ads in urban areas or city transportation systems. Nevertheless artivists engage in different media like the internet not only for actions which could be described as hacktivism.

Often the acts of artivists can be refererred to as part of the larger concept of Culture jamming.

There is a chapter on Artivism in It's Bigger Than Hip Hop by M.K. Asante, Jr.. Asante writes of the artivist:

The artivist (artist +activist) uses her artistic talents to fight and struggle against injustice and oppression—by any medium necessary. The artivist merges commitment to freedom and justice with the pen, the lens, the brush, the voice, the body, and the imagination. The artivist knows that to make an observation is to have an obligation.

Artivists

• Will St Leger
• John Fekner
• Norm Magnusson
• Banksy
• Anomie Belle
• phelgo
• Above
• Ashara Ekundayo
• Ana Kefr
• JoFF Rae

Collectives & Organizations

• Artivist Film Festival
• Chiche!
• Crass
• Da! collective
• MYSTYLe_art
• My Dad's Strip Club
• Zöfi
• ARTIVIST : creative

Social Centres

Artivists are often found in social centres.

See also

• Avant-garde
• Whirl-Mart
• Treasure Hill
• Pan African Arts Society

External links

• The Artivist Film Festival Official Site
• Ghostboy, An Artivist
• Artivism network Germany
• ARTIVIST : creative