Yazan Halwani is a young Beiruti artist who paints murals of revered Lebanese and Arab figures on prominent walls in a bid to help overcome sectarianism in this fragmented city. “What I try to do,” he explains down a fuzzy line from Beirut, “is write the stories of the city, on its own walls – creating a memory for the city.”
In state capitals and street protests, women’s rights activists have been wearing red robes and white bonnets based on “The Handmaid's Tale,” the 1985 novel that is now a series on Hulu.
Silent, heads bowed, the activists in crimson robes and white bonnets have been appearing at demonstrations against gender discrimination and the infringement of reproductive and civil rights.
It all started when a 70-year-old fish market stall owner nicknamed “Booghy” was grooving in public, in violation of Iranian law.
A new form of protest against the government is rocking Iran: a viral dance craze set to an upbeat folk song where crowds clap and chant the rhythmic chorus, ‘oh, oh, oh, oh.’
Artist and activist Niki Lopez is a survivor. From age 11 to 25, she was trapped in a religious cult in Georgia, where she was separated from the rest of her family. The cult's leader sexually abused her. But in 2000, Lopez escaped and worked with the FBI to put him in prison. She was later given a humanitarian award from the FBI for her help in putting her abuser behind bars.
"The Shortest Way with the Dissenters;" Or, "Proposals for the Establishment of the Church" is a pamphlet by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1702. Defoe was prompted to write the pamphlet by the increased hostility towards Dissenters in the wake of the accession of Queen Anne to the throne.
In the mid early 2000s, religious advocates tried a new strategy: promoting the theory of “intelligent design” to be taught in schools. As the Kansas School Board considered the argument, Prophet Bobby Henderson saw an opportunity. His now famous, “Open Letter to the Kansas School Board” began:
The Propaganda Machine is a battle cry delivered in the language of extreme metal. On Sahil Makhija’s fourth solo album as Demonstealer, he takes aim at the right-wing politicians, racist nationalists, disinformation artists, and religious extremists who manipulate and exploit the masses, in his native India and all over the world. He doesn’t mince his words; just about every lyric on the album could easily be printed on a protest sign.
Colorful portrait of a Muslim woman wearing an American flag colored head scarf. Image on back of a woman with a rose in her hair in black and white with text that states, "We are resilient. We are indivisible. We are greater than fear. We will defend dignity. We will protect each other." -- "The We the People campaign aims to restore hope, imagination, curiosity, and creativity into our country’s dialogue.
Last month Amina Tyler, a 19 year old Tunisian blogger, posted a nude photo of herself as a protest; she is now under death threat. In her defense, the Ukrainian group Femen [13] staged a global "topless jihad" [14] on April 4, causing widespread debate [15] about nude protests [16], freedom of expression, and Femen's politics. [17]
In 1930, the Indian National Congress adopted satyagraha (essentially, nonviolent protest) as their main tactic in their campaign for independence. Mahatma Gandhi was appointed to develop a plan of action; he proposed marching to the sea to make salt in defiance of the Salt Act of 1882.
The latest Academy Award for Best Picture was earned by a film depicting the story of a poor, gay, black boy in South Florida. Moonlight, by director Barry Jenkins, has achieved great recognition for its beautiful and honest depiction of a storyline which challenges itself at every turn.
Shirin Neshat’s Women of Allah is a photographic series exploring the complex identities of Muslim women in post-revolutionary Iran. Combining black-and-white portraits, Persian calligraphy, and symbolic elements such as guns and veils, Neshat interrogates themes of martyrdom, violence, femininity, and resistance.
A Lebanese Olympic skier whose topless calendar prompted calls for a ministerial inquiry has unwittingly sparked a social media campaign backing her, with supporters stripping off in solidarity.
Three years ago, Jackie Chamoun posed for a calendar photo shoot. Behind-the-scenes footage recently was posted online, and Lebanon's sports and youth minister reportedly ordered an investigation.
A group of clergy members wanted to change the conversation when they heard that a Florida police department was using mug shots of young black men as targets for shooting practice.
“#UseMeInstead,” the religious leaders said, tweeting photos of themselves in hopes that their solidarity would cause cops to “think twice” before pulling the trigger.
But the well-intentioned hashtag is provoking mixed responses.
Even though Spain is constitutionally defined as a non-confessional nation, the Catholic Church still holds great power. For example, the Catholic Church is exempt from paying certain taxes, and can reclaim certain buildings as their property. This often creates frictions and conflicts with the activist groups and organizations that would prefer a more secular political environment.
Beijing-based artist Liu Yi is working on a series of black-and-white portraits he knows will never be shown in a Chinese gallery. His varied subjects — men and women, young and old, smiling and pensive — have one thing in common: They are Tibetans who have set themselves on fire to protest repressive Chinese rule.
In 1989, playwright, actor, and activist Safdar Hashmi was fatally attacked by political thugs while performing a street play outside of Delhi. His death led to the founding of Sahmat, an influential artist collective that has taken a consistent stance against the threats of religious fundamentalism and sectarianism in India through a vibrant mix of high art and street culture.
After winning the TED Prize on March 2, 2011, the French-artist JR launched the Inside Out Project, in his first TED Talk. Using his own artistic practice as inspiration, this participatory platform helps individuals and communities to make a statement by displaying large-scale black and white portraits in public spaces. Through their “Actions,” communities around the world have sparked collaborations and conversations.
Comic artist Huda Fahmy has been breaking down walls with her hilarious comic "Yes, I'm Hot in This."
In her own words, "What started as my therapeutic way of dealing with the Islamophobia and prejudice I encounter on the daily has now turned into this amazing opportunity to tell the story of the American hijabi."
UNLESS by Stephanie Cardon is a vibrant floor-to-ceiling installation that fills the main entryway of Boston’s landmark Prudential Center. Commissioned by Boston Properties and curated and produced by Now + There, UNLESS explores sustainability, climate justice, and how taking action together can create positive change.
Mine is not Arts for the sake of Arts. It is a revolutionary INSGINA carved into the artistic plaque of my DNA to speak FREEDOM of expression and then freedom after EXPRESSION. The footprints of my revolutionary walk are dipped in the paths of RESISTANCE. My Ideological Swag -word is CREATIVITY. My spiritual birth mark is RESILIENCE. My revolutionary slogan is a nonviolent but a poetic fist of MASS INSTRUCTION. I am non-selfish believer.
Acción #CronicaDaMorteAnunciada que consistió en la creación de 9 estandartes con informaciones sobre asesinatos a “País do Santo” para denunciar sus muertes por motivos de racismo afroreligioso en la ciudad de Belém, Brasil.
A woman dressed in western clothes and a hijab is a common sight across Europe’s capital cities – a fact now reflected on the catwalk at Milan fashion week.
Halima Aden, a Somali-American model, is fast becoming fashion’s face of 2017, currently stealing the show at fashion week from the catwalk superstar Gigi Hadid.
Thousands of people marched through Paris on Wednesday evening to protest the killing of a Holocaust survivor in her home over the weekend, in what investigators are treating as an anti-Semitic crime.
Mireille Knoll, 85, was stabbed 11 times and her apartment was set on fire in the attack, French authorities said. Two men in their 20s have been arrested, one a neighbor of Knoll's and the other a homeless man, a judicial source told CNN.