Art & Activism

Our March student-curated display explored the role of art in activism.

Using the topic of immigration as a case study, this exhibition explores the role of art in activism and vice versa. The artworks presented use a variety of techniques, ranging from theater and performance to community organizing, to highlight problems around immigration and even attempt to enact change in the world. Many of these works also beg the question of what constitutes art and blur the line between art and activism. 

On display (Marquand copies):

           1. Global activism: Art and Conflict in the 21st century, ed. Peter Weibel
               Karlsruhe, Germany: ZKM, Center for Art and Media, 2015; Cambridge, MA: dist. by MIT Press, 2015
               Marquand and Firestone Libraries, N8236.P5 G56 2015

           2. Weiwei, Ai
               Ai Weiwei: Fairytale, A Reader, ed. Lionel Bovier & Salome Schnetz
               Zurich: JRP/Ringier, 2012
               Marquand, N7349.A38 A64 2012

           3. Living as Form: Socially Engaged Art from 1991-2011, ed. Nato Thompson
               New York: Creative Time; Cambridge, MA and London: MIT Press, 2012
               Marquand, N8243.S65 L58 2012

           4. Whitney Museum of American Art, Independent Study Program
               Foreclosed: Between Crisis and Possibility, curated by Jennifer Burris, Sofía Olascoaga, Sadia Shirazi,
               and Gaia Tedone
               New York: Whitney Museum of American Art ; New Haven: dist. by Yale University Press, 2011
               Marquand, N618.I52 F6 2011

           5. Lemoine, Stéphanie et Samira Ouardi
              Artivisme: Art, action politique et résistance culturelle
              Paris: Alternatives, 2010
              Marquand, NX650.P6 L46 2010

           6. Weiwei, Ai
              Ai Weiwei: Works 2004-2007, ed. Urs Meile
              Lucerne: Galerie Urs Meile; Zurich: dist. by JRP/Ringier, 2007
              Marquand, N7349.A38 M44 2007

           7. Baraya, Alberto, et al.
              Displaced: Arte contemporáneo de Colombia [Contemporary Art from Colombia]
              Bogotá: Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Artes y Humanidades, Departmento de Arte:
              Ministerio de   Relaciones
              Exteriores, Ediciones Uniandes, 2007
              Marquand, N6675.6 .D57 2007

This theme has surfaced frequently in the U.S. and beyond in recent days.  A sampling of events:

Princeton University Art Museum, Student Advisory Board's Inspiration Night with the theme "Art & Activism: Get Socially Engaged in Art"

Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, in conjunction with the Institute for Studies on Latin American Art, “Beyond the Symbolic: Art and Social Engagement in the Americas”

Creative Minds event, Toronto, ON

University of Chicago, “What is an Artistic Practice of Human Rights?” and
In Acts exhibition

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, joint Art Libraries and Social Sciences Libraries Sections session entitled, “These Times to Us Are Worth Savin’: Documenting the Art of Social Transformation since 1960,” August 2017, Wrocław, Poland 

Also, the Art Libraries Society of North America--and other organizations--has spoken out in opposition to proposed cuts to arts funding in the U.S. and to affirm a commitment to diversity and inclusion in light of Executive Branch actions and possible budget adjustments. See press releases for 2/6/17 and and 3/16/17.