Projects tagged "Labor"

Dismaland
Practitioner:
Banksy
Date:
Aug 20 2015
“He describes it as a “family theme park unsuitable for small children” – and with the Grim Reaper whooping it up on the dodgems and Cinderella horribly mangled in a pumpkin carriage crash, it is easy to see why. Banksy’s new show, Dismaland, which opened on Thursday on the Weston-super-Mare seafront, is sometimes hilarious, sometimes eye-opening and occasionally breathtakingly shocking.
Art, Advocacy, and Action: Luke Ching's Crusade for Labor Rights in Hong Kong
Practitioner:
Luke Ching Chin Wai
Date:
Jan 1 2024
Luke Ching Chin Wai is a conceptual artist and labour-artivist in Hong Kong. Since 2013, he has worked undercover in different low-paid jobs in the city, including as a security guard, supermarket cashier worker, and metro cleaner to learn about poor people's working conditions. He then uses these experiences to create art and push for improved labour rights.
Inside Out Project
Practitioner:
JR
Date:
Mar 2 2011
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.
Naming the Lost Memorials
Practitioner:
Naming the Lost, Make the Road, CityLore, Great Small Works, Fund Excluded Workers coalition, artists around the country, folklorists around the country
Date:
May 25 2020
In May 2020, a team of artists, activists, folklorists, and people who lost loved ones to Covid-19 came together to make monthly memorial sites in New York City to remember victims of the Covid-19 pandemic. They continued installing memorials around New York City every month during the summer of 2020.
Maleteros
Practitioner:
Mark Bradford
Date:
Jan 1 2005
Malteros are the porters who transport luggage and goods between the border of the US and Mexico. Working with a group of maleteros in 2005, artist Mark Bradford collaborated on a system of maps and signs that placed the marginalized work of the unofficial maleteros alongside that of the sanctioned labor of policemen and taxi drivers.
Can’t Help Myself
Practitioner:
Sun Yuan and Peng Yu
Date:
Dec 29 2016
In 2016, the Guggenheim Museum commissioned its very first robotic artwork called Can’t Help Myself (Wannmann, 2016). The artwork is created by two of China’s most controversial artists Sun Yuan and Peng Yu and can be described as a robotic arm that has one specific, life-long duty: to prevent the deep-red, bloodlike liquid, which constantly oozes outwards, from straying too far (Weng, n.d.).
Detroit Industry, North Wall
Practitioner:
Diego Rivera
Date:
Jan 1 1933
Almost all of Rivera's art told a story, many of which depicted Mexican society, the Mexican Revolution, or reflected his own personal social and political beliefs, and In the Arsenal is no different. The woman on the right side of this painting in Tina Modotti, an Italian photographer and revolutionary political activist, who is holding ammunition for Julio Antonio Mella, a founder of the internationalized Cuban communist party.
A Haunting Artistic Tribute to Garment Workers Killed in Bangladesh and the US
Practitioner:
Artist Rachel Breen, Poet Alison Morse
Date:
Apr 1 2018
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Exactly 1,281 white garments hang from the ceiling of the Perlman Teaching Museum’s Braucher Gallery. The collared shirts, knit sweaters, tights, and other items of clothing glow with an eerie luminosity.
Calling Me a Hero Only Makes You Feel Better
Practitioner:
Grocery Store Workers, Essential Workers, Front Line Workers
Date:
Apr 18 2020
Working in a grocery store has earned me and my co-workers a temporary status. After years of being overlooked, we suddenly feel a sense of responsibility, solidarity, and pride. On a private Facebook group page for my company, Trader Joe’s, one employee from Washington State posted a picture of a company-issued work shirt hanging from the ceiling of the store. A sign attached to the shirt read not all heroes wear scrubs.
Tatlin's Whisper #6
Practitioner:
Tania Bruguera
Date:
Mar 1 2009
This is the sixth piece of the series Tatlin’s Whisper which examines the relationship between apathy and anaesthetization of the images in the mass media. This series intends to activate images, well-known because of having been repeatedly seen in the press, but are here decontextualized from the original event that gave way to the news and staged as realistically as possible in an art institution.
Wake Up Masoala
Practitioner:
Razia Said and various artists
Date:
Oct 15 2011
In an endeavor to raise awareness at the local and international level, Razia organized the Mifohaza Masoala (Wake Up Masoala) music and environmental festival, which took place at the edge of the Masoala Rainforest in October 2011. The concert featured some of Madagascar’s most thrilling performers, and the festival was a tremendous success, with over 10,000 people in attendance.
The Hell of Copper
Practitioner:
Nyaba Leon Ouedraogo
Date:
Jun 6 2008
Artists Statement:
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.
La Casa Invisible Protests Against Gentrification
Practitioner:
La Casa Invisible
Date:
Dec 3 2002
La Casa Invisible project was started in 2007 in Malaga, Spain, when a group of socially involved participants squatted in a run-down building, aiming to eventually claim the legal rights to the property (Moor & Smart, 2016). The space was opened to local artists and creators, quickly becoming a hub for free local music, performances, and seminars as well as creating an important meeting space for social groups (Moor & Smart, 2016).
The True Cost
Practitioner:
Andrew Morgan
Date:
Apr 24 2015
The True Cost is a 2015 documentary film directed by Andrew Morgan that focuses on fast fashion. It discusses several aspects of the garment industry from production—mainly exploring the life of low-wage workers in developing countries—to its after-effects such as river and soil pollution, pesticide contamination, disease and death.
Horrible bosses: masked activists publicly shame businesses in Bologna
Practitioner:
Il Padrone di Merda
Date:
Oct 1 2019
On a warm summer afternoon in the Italian city of Bologna, a group of around 15 young people march through the crowded city centre to a high-end pastry shop in Strada Maggiore.
Sunflower Seeds by Ai Weiwei
Practitioner:
Ai Weiwei
Date:
Oct 12 2010
Ai Weiwei's installation Sunflower Seeds is a profound commentary on both historical and contemporary issues through the medium of art. First exhibited at Tate Modern in London from October 12, 2010, to May 2, 2011, the work features an astonishing one hundred million handcrafted porcelain sunflower seeds, spread across the gallery's 1,000 square meter Turbine Hall to a depth of ten centimeters.
Fit For Work
Practitioner:
Void One
Date:
Jan 1 2018
Graffiti art is particularly viewed as a powerful form of social protest, and the (illegal) act of defacing can be as important as the message itself. Artist Void One has been arrested on numerous occasions for his politically-charged interventions. “I didn’t set out to make political art but art is a platform where I can vent my frustrations” – Void One.
Work Ideology
Practitioner:
Madison Liao
Date:
Apr 15 2022
Work ideology centers around sustainable work. Through fifteen interviews, workers and prospective workers were interviewed about their experiences with work and the job search. Those interviews are analyzed and compiled on work ideology. However, work ideology goes further than showcasing the interview results, it allows for anonymous responses to be entered as well, expanding the research’s accessibility to every worker.
French Farmers Throw Sh*t Fit
Practitioner:
FNSEA (National Federation of Agricultural Holders' Unions)
Date:
Dec 18 2023
"Energy costs surged with the Feb. 2022 launch by Russia of full-scale war in Ukraine and hit hard for farmers reliant on tractors, harvesters and other fuel-guzzling equipment. Prices also soared for other inputs that underpin intensive farming, notably fertilizers. French farmers were already struggling to compete in the increasingly globalized economy.
Dying to Breathe: The Unseen Cost of Gold Mining
Practitioner:
Sim Chi Yin
Date:
May 15 2015
Photographer Sim Chi Yin spent more than three years documenting a Chinese gold miner who is suffering from the deadly lung disease silicosis. Despite the odds, his loving relationship with his wife has kept him alive much longer than anyone expected.
We Do Care
Practitioner:
Allthosewalls
Date:
Dec 3 2016
‘MADE IN BANGLADESH’: NEWYORKERS RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT WORKER EXPLOITATION IN FASHION INDUSTRY New York City – Models are marching along the biggest shops in Fifth Avenue, wearing faux bloodied shirts with statements 'Made in Bangladesh’, ‘Support Cheap Labor.’ Myths about ethical consumption: ineffective, expensive and subordinate
Leopoldo Méndez’s Revolution: Social Activism through Graphic Art
Practitioner:
Leopoldo Mendez
Date:
Jan 1 1942
Born on June 30, 1902, in Mexico City, Leopoldo Méndez would become one of Mexico’s most significant and beloved graphic artists of the twentieth century. Méndez was one of eight children in a poor household. At a young age, Méndez used art as a means to bring joy to the Mexican community and attended the Academy of San Carlos located in Mexico City.
Ace Bank
Practitioner:
Liat Berdugo
Date:
Oct 1 2006
ACE Bank was a hoax bank developed as part of a bigger campaign by Netwerk Vlaanderen, a Belgian organization concerned with banks’ responsibilities for what they invest in. ACE bank was an elaborate deception, with a headquarters in central Brussels, parodying other banks. It claimed to be investigating whether there was a market for its special way of doing business.
‘Memorial’
Practitioner:
Cherill Linnett and woman activists
Date:
Mar 8 2020
Cheril Linett is a female artist from Chile, with a background in performance art and stage performance, who primarily focuses her artwork on feminist issues in Chile, especially ones involving violence, murder, hate crime and different kinds of oppression and assault, but also creates artwork reflecting issues in other parts of Latin America.

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