Projects tagged "London"

Diagram of the "Brookes" Slave Ship
Practitioner:
18th century abolitionists
Date:
Jan 1 1787
This diagram of the 'Brookes' slave ship is probably the most widely copied and powerful image used by the abolitionist campaigners. It depicts the ship loaded to its full capacity - 454 people crammed into the hold.The 'Brookes' sailed the passage from Liverpool via the Gold Coast in Africa to Jamaica in the West Indies.
Banksy's new artwork takes aim at arms trade
Practitioner:
Banksy
Date:
Sep 11 2017
A new piece of art by Banksy was unveiled in London on Monday in a protest targeting one of the world's largest arms fairs. The work will be displayed for a week at Art the Arms Fair, an exhibition set up to oppose the Defence Systems & Equipment International (DSEi) exhibition being held in the British capital this week.
Shibboleth
Practitioner:
Tate Modern, The Unilever Series
Date:
Oct 9 2007
Text taken from website:
Journey of a Yellow Man
Practitioner:
Lee Wen
Date:
Sep 1 1992
Singaporean artist Lee Wen’s series Journey of a Yellow Man (1992–2012), one of his most famous and long-standing performances, was not simply a personal affront, it was a political affront. At the intersection of Asian art history, critical race theory, and migration and diasporic studies, one is never far (enough away) from the chromatic framing of race and ethnicity: yellow race, yellow peril, yellow face, the forever foreigner.
When artists go to war: inside the PLO's information department
Practitioner:
Palestine Liberation Organization
Date:
May 12 2014
I was 24 years old. We were in danger. The Israeli planes were flying raids overhead. And I was designing posters." Hosni Radwan won't easily forget the conditions in the Beirut offices of the PLO Information Department, as an exhibition of the work it produced opens in London.
Savages
Practitioner:
Savages
Date:
Jan 22 2016
Savages are an all-female post-punk band that attempt to motivate people to be informed and take part in politics. They "try to give people a platform to express their own ideas" as Fay Milton of the band explains. The following is the manifesto Savages wrote for their 2016 album, Adore Life:
"Save the Bees" Street Art
Practitioner:
Louis Masai
Date:
Apr 23 2015
Colony collapse disorder is a colossal issue – and artist Louis Masai wants you take notice. His street art project “Save the Bees” aims to catch your attention by covering the walls of London with bees. Bees are extremely important to agriculture as they pollinate plants - yet entire colonies are disappearing without a solid reasons (there are theories, mostly about pesticide ingredients).
Ice Watch
Practitioner:
Olafur Eliasson
Date:
Dec 11 2018
Olafur Eliasson , the Danish-Icelandic artist. Some of his exceptional artworks focus on climate and environmental changes. In 2003, he installed The Weather Project , which remains one of Tate Modern’s popular installations. He is also known for his freestanding waterfall in Versailles , his installation in which he installed a riverbed in a museum , and his gigantic rainbow installation in Aarhus, Denmark.
Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army
Practitioner:
CIRCA
Date:
May 13 2003
To some, the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (CIRCA) might appear to be but a ragged bunch of activists sporting false noses, a smudge of grease paint, camouflage pants and bad wigs. And those people may be right. But it is also a highly disciplined army of professional clowns, a militia of authentic fools, a battalion of true buffoons.
Occupy Supporters In Protest At St Paul's
Practitioner:
4 women from the Occupy London movement
Date:
Oct 15 2012
Occupy Supporters In Protest At St Paul's: Protesters leave St Paul's after staging a protest in solidarity with Russian anarcho-punk band Pussy Riot. Protesters leave St Paul's after staging a protest in solidarity with Russian anarcho-punk band Pussy Riot. 4:49am UK, Monday 15 October 2012 Video: Activists In St Paul's Protest
OurGoods Trade School
Practitioner:
Rich Watts, Louise Ma, OurGoods
Date:
Jan 1 2010
Trade School is a self-organised, alternative learning space that runs on barter. It was started in 2010 in New York’s Lower East Side by Rich Watts, Louise Ma, and Caroline Woolard of OurGoods.org, a creative barter network. Over 800 students participated in 76 single-session classes during 35 days. Anyone can teach a class, and students sign up by agreeing to meet the barter requests of teachers.
Shell Skull Stig: Art Not Oil Galleries
Practitioner:
Art Not Oil
Date:
Aug 5 2005
The group Art Not Oil did a campaign to raise awareness about the oil industry, and their funding of Art. "Art Not Oil has campaigned against Big Oil cultural sponsorship since 2004.
Art, Activism, and the City: Illuminating Social Change
Practitioner:
Donkeys
Date:
Mar 13 2025
The creative fusion of art and activism in urban spaces has propelled the British collective Led by Donkeys into the spotlight, garnering millions of views for their interventions on social media. Their critical visual occupations - whether billboard messages during the day or large-scale projections at night - raise a compelling question: which medium holds the greater persuasive power?
Invisible Homeless
Practitioner:
Luke Jerram, 1625 Independent People
Date:
Dec 22 2015
Artist Luke Jerram created a genderless sleeping figure made of glass lying on a piece of cardboard and exhibited in the streets of London. The artist said in an interview "For every person you see sleeping on the streets, there are many others sleeping in hostels, squats and other forms of unsatisfactory and insecure accommodation.
Suffragettes Dress as Famous Women in History
Practitioner:
The Women's Social and Political Union, suffragettes
Date:
Jun 17 1911
On June 17, 1911, a week before the coronation of King George V, women from diverse backgrounds united in costume and with installations over a shared political view - that of rallying the right for women to vote. Known as the Women's Coronation March, women thronged the streets between Blackfriars Bridge and Albert hall in a five-linked chain, dressed for the most part in white.
Much Ado About BP
Practitioner:
Reclaim Shakespeare Company
Date:
Oct 24 2012
"Members of the Reclaim Shakespeare Company jumped on stage at the Noël Coward theatre to deliver another surprise anti-BP performance. Just before the second half of a BP-sponsored Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) performance of Much Ado About Nothing was due to begin, the three actor-vists performed a short Shakespeare-inspired piece.
3 Billboards Outside Grenfell, London
Practitioner:
Justice 4 Grenfell
Date:
Feb 16 2018
Activism imitated art when Justice 4 Grenfell protesters drove three provocative signs through the streets of London. In a clever nod to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, the Oscar-nominated film directed by Martin McDonagh, the billboards were bright red, with black letters that read: 71 DEAD AND STILL NO ARRESTS? HOW COME?
Estados de excepción
Practitioner:
Lorena Wolffer
Date:
Nov 25 2013
Estados de excepción (States of Exception) is series of participatory cultural interventions created for women to freely and joyfully exercise our rights in public and secure environments, currently being produced in Mexico and abroad.
Disarm the Gallery: Protests end National Gallery's arms trade links
Practitioner:
Stop the Arms Fair
Date:
Oct 10 2012
The National Gallery's long-standing sponsorship arrangement with weapons manufacturer Finmeccanica has ended, following a campaign by Campaign Against Arms Trade to 'Disarm the Gallery.' The arrangement has been terminated one year early and just weeks before the next protest event was planned.
Red Envelope Movement in London
Practitioner:
World Microphone (Chinese 世界麦克风)
Date:
Feb 14 2021
World Microphone (世界麦克风) is an organization created by students (most of them are Chinese) located in London. The organization has an account in RED, which is a popular social media in China. It often holds interviews and movements on the street in London, talking about world culture, food, and travel. Then, it makes short videos based on these interviews and movements and posts the videos on RED.
Ice Watch
Practitioner:
Olafer Eliasson
Date:
Dec 1 2018
Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson has extracted 30 blocks of glacial ice from the waters surrounding Greenland and placed them in public spaces across London, where they will be left to melt. Called Ice Watch, the temporary installation is meant to serve as a visual reminder of the impact of climate change on the environment.
Wearable Shelter for Syrian Refugees
Practitioner:
HuffPost Lifestyle
Date:
Feb 19 2016
UK design students focusing on the use of design that moves beyond exclusivity, wealth, entitlement, and privilege, have created a coat that is also a shelter. The functional pocketed coat that converts into a tent and a sleeping bag, is intended for Syrian refugees. The students under the guidance of Dr.
How one small Barbie doll took on the art world
Practitioner:
Art Activist Barbie
Date:
Apr 16 2020
Museums and art galleries are not usually the sites of feminist political protest. Yet over the past couple of years, before the lockdown, gallery visitors all over the UK had noticed a small, determined activist whose modus operandi is “Small signs, big questions, fabulous wardrobe”.
Empty the Cages
Practitioner:
Dan Witz, PETA
Date:
Sep 1 2014
Fifty-six-year-old Dan Witz — who originally hails from Chicago but lives in Brooklyn — has been producing street art in New York since the seventies. And not just any street art. Wondrous works that trick the eye and often elude passersby altogether. Oh, but when one realizes what he or she is seeing, it’s pure revelation.
Human Cost, Tate Britain Performance – First anniversary of the Gulf of Mexico disaster
Practitioner:
Liberate Tate
Date:
Apr 20 2011
"Human Cost, Tate Britain Performance (87 minutes), charcoal and sunflower oil 20 April 2011 – First anniversary of the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

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