Art and Activism

Introduction

As activists we are challenging the status quo. In the face of fear and apathy, we are saying that a better world is possible and achievable.

We’re asking people to put themselves in the shoes of others who are oppressed and marginalised and question beliefs and attitudes that are entrenched and intractable. And we’re up against powerful interests: governments and private enterprise who want to perpetuate oppression, marginalisation and social division.  

Art has an important role to play in changing minds and hearts, in firing people’s imagination and passion and in enabling people to think in different ways. That’s why artists have always been a part of social justice movements. 

In this topic area, you can explore the role of art in activism by completing an online learning course. There’s also a collection of other learning resources for you to explore.

Online Learning

In the following 3 Lessons, we’ll explore the many roles of art in activism. We’ll concentrate on a video made especially for the Body Politic by The Array Collective. The Array collective are a group of individual artists rooted in Belfast, who join together to create collaborative actions in response to the sociopolitical issues affecting Northern Ireland. The video tells the story or artists in the Irish abortion campaigns of 2018/2019. You can watch the full video here.

The Lessons should take you about 30 minutes to complete. We’ve broken it down into bitesize pieces so you can learn at a time and pace that suits you.

Click on Lesson 1 ‘Changing How We See The World’ to start