List of Activism in my Community:
Activism in our communities
1. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistant (VITA) is a free income that offers free tax preparation to low-income, disabled, and limited English-speaking taxpayers.
2. In May 2025, around 450 NJ Transit engineers represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) walked off the job, after several weeks of warnings, stopping services across the state for the first time in over 40 years, and ended when a deal was reached to resolve the wage disputes.
3. In 2023, over 1000 construction workers represented by the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) gathered outside of Newport Town Square park, calling for an end to workers' exploitation and abuse around Jersey City construction projects.
What is Art Activism?
The best way to describe art activism, in my opinion, is from a quote from the Art of Activism that says, "As artistic activists, we are always trying to generate, create experiences that generate feelings that have demonstrable impact in the world. This is the brass ring of artistic activism." As defined by the book, the goal of art alone is to solely generate affect, or in other words, stimulate feelings. Activism, on the other hand, has the goal of generating effect in the real world, moving the material world. The combination of these factors generates what the books call "Æffect".
Book Artwork
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| WAR ON SMOG |
As stated in the book, Chinese cities are notorious for their high intensity of smog, a problem that citizens can't protest about without the worry of a hostile response from the government. In a clever way to bring attention to the smog problem, artistic activists in Chongqing city staged a performative piece called WAR ON SMOG. The piece consists of a couple and other people present, dressed in formal wedding attire, all wearing a gas mask to prevent breathing in the smog. I chose to talk about this piece because it shows that no matter the circumstances and limitations, when art activists want to bring awareness to a problem, they can always find a way.
WHY ARTISTIC ACTIVISM?
Quote1: "The ability of artistic activism to surprise us – to show up in unlikely places (e.g., not a gallery) or take on unfamiliar forms (e.g., not a protest march) provides an opportunity to disrupt people’s preconceived notions of art and protest, and their predetermined ideas about the messages we are trying to communicate."
Quote 2: "Culture lays the foundation for politics. It outlines the contours of our very notions of what is desirable and undesirable, possible and impossible. Culture makes us, as we make it, and culture is the base material of Artistic Activism."
Short response: Art activism has one major advantage over other forms of activism, and that is the ability to show up out of nowhere. As mentioned in the Why Artistic Activism? Article by Stephen Duncome and Stephen Lambert, art activism can show up anywhere and educate people on their predetermined ideas about the messages that art is portraying. As discussed before, the goal of art activism is to create an Æffect within a person and make them think about the particular message that the art addresses. Although art activism aims to influence others, the concept itself is influenced by the artist culture, for example, Banksy's "Love in the Air" mural, which references the violent act of throwing Molotovs, something that is done in certain cultures during times of protest, and replaces it with flowers as an anti-war symbol.
An Introduction to Activist Art | The Collector | by Stefanie Graf
Quote 1: "One of the most important goals of activist art is to encourage social and political change. Just like Jacques-Louis David’s paintings promoted civic virtue and the abolishment of an old political system to create new and improved structures, contemporary artists use their works in similar ways."
Quote 2: "Another important goal of activist art is to create awareness of existing political and social issues. When the public is looking away from suffering that could be prevented or does not want to be confronted with it, activist art often creates a dialogue and forces people to think about these problems."
Short Response: Although many people may not attribute certain changes in the political system to art itself. Throughout history, there have been many cases where art has played a major role in encouraging political change, for example, Paula Rego's "Abortion Series." Ms. Rego originally began her series after 1998, when a referendum to legalize abortion failed in Portugal. Rego's painting captures the fear and pain that women had to put up with during illegal abortions. Her paintings are partially credited for helping change public opinion in favor of legalizing abortion during a second referendum in 2008. Art activism is also responsible for bringing eyes to existing political and social issues that wandering eyes may not be aware of or try to avoid.
The 25 Most Influential Works of American Protest Art Since World War II
Quote 1: "Journalists kept showing me images of what was going on in Richmond with the statue of Robert E. Lee. There were projections on it, and it became an activist site. The transformation of that space, to me, felt like exactly what protest art is."
Quote 2: “I have always wanted my art to service my people — to reflect us, to relate to us, to stimulate us, to make us aware of our potential,” she once said. “We have to create an art for liberation and for life.”
Short Response: In the article by The New York Times, 5 people discussed some of the most influential art activism pieces of the last 100 years. Among those pieces, one stood out in my eyes, the Robert E. Lee, Richmond, VA, the Confederate monument was constructed in 1891, and avoided the wrath of protestors due to its colossal size, making it impossible to be removed without the proper machinery. However, protesters found a way around it and transformed the base of the statues, covering the marble with the names of police violence victims and protest chants, etc. This transformed a monument that celebrates a man who fought for slavery into one that brought eyes the injustices that many African Americans suffer. This piece was the perfect example of how art activism can bring eyes to current political events.
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