Projects tagged "Wealth & Poverty"

Imagining Life after the Ravaging, Virulent COVID-19 Pandemic , A Special Journal.
Practitioner:
Mbizo Chirasha - Publisher/Curator and Jamie Dedes- Guest Editor
Date:
Jun 29 0020
The signature angst of our time was profoundly expressed in the poems submitted for WOMAWORDS Literary Press June 2020 edition, Imaging Life After COVID-19, offering women poets an opportunity to write about their experience of the pandemic and their vision of or for the future. The universal trauma wrought by this virus, invisible and silent and pouncing with madness and mendacity, brings us to a place we’d like to forget but never will.
Matador almost gets the Wall Street Bull
Practitioner:
The Yes Men
Date:
Nov 10 2011
The incident began when two clowns, Hannah Morgan and Louis Jargow, scaled the steel barricades protecting the landmark. The clowns began spanking and climbing the beast, traditional ways of coaxing a bull into anger in preparation for a Castilian corrida, or bullfight.
Miguel Hernández (Orihuela, Spain 10/30/1910 – Alicante, Spain 03/28/1942), life and death of a poet and activist
Practitioner:
Miguel Hernández
Date:
Dec 31 1931
Miguel Hernández was a spanish shepherd, poet and playwright that dedicated most of his works to dignify the poor peasants of the rural areas of Spain.
Brokers and Police for the Occupation
Practitioner:
The Yes Men
Date:
Oct 23 2011
Two members of the Yes Lab brought a dozen thrift-store suits to Zuccotti Park and asked for volunteers. Then, within earshot of the police, the group made a human microphone announcement about a "highly risky, very arrestable" action. Then, together with a brand-new police escort, the group headed towards the Wall Street Bull chanting "Castrate the bull!" and other angry slogans. More police joined.
Effects of Gentrification in Madrid
Practitioner:
El Rey de la Ruina
Date:
Dec 27 2020
El Rey de la Ruina (The King of the Ruin) has become an act of powerful recognizable symbolism throughout Madrid. In terms of his popular heart symbolism, the artist chose the organ, a heart, as one of his favorite symbols because he was diagnosed when he was little with cardiomegaly, an abnormal increase in the volume of the heart, which is what inspired this organ as his prize art symbol.
Project Orange- Detroit, Demolition, Disneyland
Practitioner:
Christia, Jacques, Greg, Mike, Andy
Date:
Nov 14 2009
Object Orange (formerly Detroit. Demolition. Disneyland. is an artistic project in Detroit, Michigan which seeks to draw attention to dilapidated buildings by painting them orange.
Why Prince is a Powerful Example of Artistic Activism
Practitioner:
Prince
Date:
Apr 21 2016
From calling out poverty in his lyrics to his support of coding, the legendary artist pushed the world to care about more than music.
Acting Lessons
Practitioner:
New LIfe Foundation
Date:
Jan 14 2013
The New Life Foundation is a Colombian organization located in Bogota, whose aim consists of offering vulnerable women alternatives to quit prostitution and rehabilitate from its surrounding dangers (crime, drug addiction, AIDS, etc.) One of its remarkable projects was based on theater as a method to overcome a past of shame and grief building a more dignant present in which they co-construct with their communities.
Organization for the Democratization of the Visual Arts
Practitioner:
DHAdmann
Date:
Jun 10 2026
ODBK is an activist organization that aims to create a more equal, diverse, inclusive, transparent and democratic art world. ODBK seeks to do this by diversify and increase the number of people who understand and engage with contemporary art.
Aboriginal Embassy, Richard Bell
Practitioner:
Richard Bell
Date:
Jan 1 2013
Richard Bell has often called himself ‘an activist masquerading as an artist’. Aboriginal journalist and radio broadcaster Daniel Browning has suggested that Bell is also ‘a megaphone.
Painting homes to strengthen a community
Practitioner:
Pintando Santa Catarina Palopó
Date:
Nov 15 2017
Nestled on the banks of Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, Santa Catarina Palopó is a small town brimming with vibrant colors and stunning natural views. Despite its natural beauty and cultural heritage, the community struggled with economic development and poverty for years until they had the opportunity to harness the power of art and transform the town.
kelli rae adams: Forever in Your Debt, an Exhibition at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
Practitioner:
kelli rae adams
Date:
Jul 1 2023
Student loan debt in the US today totals over 1.7 trillion dollars and is collectively borne by more than 44 million Americans, including artist kelli rae adams. With her installation Forever in Your Debt, adams converts this abstract burden into a tangible volume. She has crafted hundreds of wheel-thrown vessels, sized to collectively hold the average individual student debt —$37,000—in the form of coins.
Moneyless Manifesto
Practitioner:
Mark Boyle
Date:
Nov 1 2008
Mark Boyle has lived completely without money in England [since 2008], an experience which formed the basis for his first book, The Moneyless Man. He is also the founder of Freeconomy, an alternative economy with local groups across 171 countries. He holds a degree in Business and for most of his professional career was involved in the management of organic food companies.
Will Work for Empty Wallets
Practitioner:
Heather Hutton
Date:
Oct 12 2012
Will Work for Empty Wallets is a community outreach project dedicated to the millions of unemployed United States Citizens. Over 3,000 empty wallets were collected nationwide with the help of the Georgia Department of Labor to construct an 11'x21' American flag. Over 1200 wallets were used in the construction; each containing a unique empty wallet story about economic hardships.
Feminist Theatre!
Practitioner:
Wow Cafe Theatre
Date:
Oct 1 1980
WOW started as an international women's theatre festival in October of 1980 in NYC. Within 18 months Wow found a permanent location and produced works by women and trans people all year around. In 1984 it moved into its current home at 59-61 East 4th Street.
In NYC, Activism Begins With Lessons In Theater
Practitioner:
EMERGE NYC
Date:
May 31 2017
Note before the post: This article is great in highlighting a specific case of creative activism in the streets of New York City, but also gives some contextual background to how this project manifested. On a sidewalk in the Village in downtown Manhattan, an African-American woman leans on her elbows and knees, wearing only black underpants. Scrawled in black marker all over her body are the words "Ain't I a Woman?"
DC Comics to Publish Comic Books about Privilege and Power
Practitioner:
DC Comics, Gail Simone, Art Baltazer, Franco
Date:
May 1 2013
Following in the strong tradition of using graphic novels to explore social ills, DC Comics is releasing two new politically activist issues in their "New 52" series. The first is called "The Movement" and is written by Gail Simone. Simone describes that "The Movement is an idea I’ve had for some time. It’s a book about power–who owns it, who uses it, who suffers from its abuse."
Bringing Art and Change to Bronx
Practitioner:
Thomas Hirschhorn
Date:
Sep 15 2013
New York Times By Randy Kennedy
Education for all in Public Space
Practitioner:
The Free University
Date:
May 13 2014
If you headed into the West 4th St. Subway Station on March 9, 2014, you may have seen a group of people writing on cardboard, taping it to the walls, and seemingly holding a small class in the underground space. Those were some of the members of Free University NYC, a radical educational project started during May 2012 as a form of educational strike. They hold classes in public spaces like parks and subway stations, and are entirely free.
Danish Michelin Star chef cooks to make a difference
Practitioner:
Rasmus Munk/JunkFood
Date:
Apr 10 2020
A couple of weeks ago Danish chef Rasmus Munk made Michelin-starred dishes, now he prepares pasta salad and tartlets for the homeless in Copenhagen. In the past few weeks, COVID-19 has forced several restaurants in Denmark to close, including the well-known Alchemist.
The Privilege of Escape
Practitioner:
Risa Puno, Creative Time
Date:
Jul 18 2019
For an art project about the effects of white privilege and the disturbing ways in which its effects are built into our society, Risa Puno’s The Privilege of Escape is a surprisingly fun, even enjoyable experience.
Rolling Jubilee
Practitioner:
Strike Debt
Date:
Nov 1 2013
Across the United States, 2,693 people have received a letter in the last few months, which identified a debt and read: "You are no longer under any obligation to settle this account with the original creditor, the bill collector, or anyone else." This is the work of the Rolling Jubilee project – a non-profit initiative which buys personal debt for pennies on the dollar in the secondary market (where debt is sold to companies who then resell i
Amazon May Day Strike
Practitioner:
Amazon Employees
Date:
May 1 2020
Essential workers at major companies like Amazon, Instacart, and Target across the United States on Friday protested for better safety protections, working conditions, and pay during the coronavirus pandemic.
Threads of Resistance
Practitioner:
Artist Circle Alliance
Date:
Jul 15 2017
A juried exhibition of fiber art created by the Artist Circle Alliance to protest the Trump administration’s actions and policies. This is a traveling exhibition to 13 venues across the U.S. All work in the exhibition, as well as the nearly 560 pieces submitted for jurying, are shown on our website.
In Brazzaville, Fashionistas Lift Spirits With Apparel And Activism
Practitioner:
La Sape
Date:
Apr 24 2014
When can fashion be considered an act of social activism — even subversion? The streets of Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo’s capital (Congo-Brazzaville), have seen plenty of violence and suffering over the years. But a group of local fashionistas known has “sapeurs” are lifting spirits and celebrating life by following a simple commandment: Dress to impress.

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