"Project Black Mask HK (PBMHK) was founded by a (then) 18-year-old, Joyce Ho, who is an American-born Hong Konger. On May 28, 2020, during a peak of the Coronavirus Pandemic, many people expressed frustration with their inability to protest on the streets (of the United States) in support of the freedom and democracy for Hong Kong. PBMHK became a space where people could do exactly that.
In the country formerly known as Burma, these free thinkers are a force in the struggle for democracy.
By Joshua Hammer
Photographs by Adam Dean
Smithsonian Magazine, March 2011
As the No. 59 bus hurtled down Ratchadamnoen Klang road in Bangkok's Old Town, its passengers diverted their attention from the intense midday heat to a small crowd on the concrete below. About 25 people were marching and chanting, photographers scuttling in front of them.
In Hong Kong in 2014 the song Raise Your Umbrella by Denise Ho and Anthong Wong became an anthem for the pro-democracy movement known as the Umbrella Revolution. The song was written after police fired tear gas into the crowds when protestors filled the streets.
The Democracy Machine! is a performative sculpture that gives participants the opportunity to experience the thrill of democracy in action, in a competitive game that challenges people to work together toward understanding a better society. Using the spectacle and play of performance drawn from Las Vegas Casinos, gambling machines and game shows, The Democracy Machine!
Creative activism and the remaking of Palestine
While policy wonks and media pundits wallow in endless debates about Jewish settlements and the threat of terror, Palestinian groups are creatively exploring alternative ways to realise their national aspirations.
The Fundred Dollar Bill Project, initiated by artist Mel Chin, is a collaborative art project aimed at raising awareness and mobilizing action against the environmental and health threat of lead contamination. It encourages individuals to create their own unique interpretations of $100 bills, symbolizing the value of human lives and the need for a lead-free future.
Concept
1. This is a participatory art action initiated by Action Office, aiming at questioning current democratic elections in Singapore and shaping an alternative possibility.
2. Design the pocards to resemble ballots, inviting people to fill out election results and mail them to the corresponding country’s polling stations or current government.
In a case of voter fraud, an investigation revealed that the party in power had won fifty votes from the residents of a single apartment.
A group of activists reproduced the apartment in a downtown square and invited 50 people inside.
The action took just one part of the case, literally brought it into three dimensions, and showed the absurdity that this could ever be legitimate.
"If you want something different, do something really different."
And they did it!
Spain, January 1st 2013, an anonymous device was launched through the networks combining a communication guerrilla with a political-electoral aesthetic. The video used for take-off went viral receiving 200.000 visits in 48h: https://youtu.be/90deuJiQfTw
Do we need to crowdsource a new Australian Constitution? Does anything matter more than the environment? Should Australia become a republic with an Australian head of state? Should whistleblowers be protected? Is representative democracy antiquated? Controversial artist Carl Scrase is asking these questions in a new project that mixes street art posters with political activism and aims to go viral through social media.
Vem Pra Rua is a nonpartisan, democratic, and pluralist movement that emerged in response to society’s fight for a better Brazil. Brazilians of all regions, social classes, and ages began mobilizing at the end of 2014—building on the 2013 marches that protested corruption, inequality, and other socio-economic and political problems.
The Deep Listening Post is a place where people can come to be heard about what's important to them in a safe and respectful environment. Empathetic volunteers lend an ear so that people can share about what's happening in their lives and in their hearts.