Art and Democracy

In 1988, African-American artist David Hammons received a commission from the Washington Project of the Arts to create a piece of work for their exhibition on black culture and modernism. Hammons chose to display his billboard publicly, near the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. which, at the time, included no non-white portraits. Hammons’ billboard…

The Women’s Action Coalition (WAC) was a feminist group that worked to take action to address the barriers restraining women’s rights. The group was founded following the appointment of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court despite Anita Hill’s testimony that Thomas had assaulted her. In response to actions and institutions that perpetuate the silencing of…

Young people are not eligible to vote, but still suffer top-down adult politics, municipal sanctioned gentrification resulting in large scale displacement, for example. Where is their voice, their representation in contemporary politics? Most youth in America are systematically barred from adequate nutrition, a fair education, and healthy peer and adult relationships. There is desperate need for personal,…

In the late 1880’s as the Chinese Exclusion Act was being passed to prevent Chinese immigrants’ entry into the United States, Angel Island Detention Center came to house them as they awaited rigorous questioning that would determine their fates. Years later, when the center was set for destruction, hundreds of Chinese poems that had been…

The #metoo movement is a viral movement that developed on social media in 2017, particularly within prominent Hollywood circles. The movement combats sexual assault, particularly against those in power who abuse their power towards inappropriate sexual ends. The movement incorporated visual aspects such as black pins and badges that people wore to spread awareness, however,…

As a response to the active governmental neglect of Black American needs, the Black Panthers implemented “survival programs”–programs intended to fill the gaps that resulted from this neglect and promote black self-determination. These programs provided services such as free breakfast for children before school, free dental care, and free access to health services amongst many…

The Guerrilla Girls are a feminist organization that seek to promote gender and racial equality within the art world. The members of the group are anonymous and adopt codenames of famous female artists. This anonymity serves to protect their identity as well as highlight the content of their message rather than the source. Their propagandistic…

Project Semicolon is a non-profit organization that focuses on mental health and suicide awareness and prevention. A large part of their public outreach is through encouraging individuals to tattoo a semicolon (;) onto their bodies as a sign of solidarity with those who are affected by mental illness or suicide. The tattoos provide a visual…

The composer John Cage was interested in how he could frame the orchestra’s audience members themselves, willing or not, as the actual music piece. He did so by framing a length of time and calling it art, and in this way activated the viewers and transformed them into the art producers. In 1952 Cage gave…

How much time do you spend time talking, really talking, to a random stranger on the street? SoulPancake, a media company based out of Los Angeles and New York, creates eye-catching interactive attractions in urban pedestrian-populated spaces in order to bring people together and create dialogue. These so-called Street Stunts range in form, the most…