Arts

Arts Organizing Helped Defeat Alabama Anti-Immigration Law

February 6, 2014 Levana Saxon, www.wagingnonviolence.org Organize! Arts, Immigration, Racism

The community and the community organizing had a big role. One of the main arguments in court was that there is not proof of racial profiling, so community members organized people to call SPLC’s hotline with their stories and build a case against the state. It was really a lot of the community pushing to get SPLC to get cases to then present to a court. What happened right now was a victory through the judicial process. But the SPLC has always looked to the community, and the community has always seeded cases to them. Art making became really central to how I approached community building. In Tuscaloosa, we started banner making as a form of identification and education. People who worked at thrift stores would bring sheets. I’d bring cardboard from dumpsters. Kids would paint while the parents would do the letters. We used a lot of handprints — butterfly and flower handprints — so that the whole families could get involved. We would make them at my house or at the Catholic church. Then we’d drive around with signs on our cars to announce that there would be a rally in Montgomery. The bus would come, and we’d all pile in.

Idle No More — The Movement And The Music

January 31, 2014 Ariana Miller, www.travois.com Create! Arts, Idle No More, Indigenous Rights

Idle No More began as a series of teach-ins protesting legislation that would erode indigenous sovereignty. To support the movement, many tribal members within the United States have also held rallies — most recently in California, Oregon and Montana in November 2013, with others occurred in Washington, D.C. and several other states across the country and around the world. Other shows of support have come from musicians, Native and non-Native alike, resulting in the compilation album “Idle No More: Songs for Life, Volumes 1 & 2.” I listened to the second volume. The Indian Handcrafts open the album with the fun and energetic rock piece, “Red Action.” Surprising is the fact that their big sound comes from only two band members, drummer Brandon Aikins and guitarist Daniel Allen, who both add their vocals to the mix. They have an equally big message that might be easily overlooked as one bops to the drumbeat: “It shouldn’t be surprising — the spirits here were born for uprising” and “What time is it? It’s time for red action!”

‘Last Kiss’ Graffiti Artist Busted Again

January 30, 2014 Bob Fredericks and Kirstan Conley, www.nypost.com Resist! Arts

Russell Murphy – who was once famously photographed kissing his gal pal while the pair were handcuffed following an earlier graffiti bust – was nabbed shortly after 1 a.m. in the East Village. Murphy and his girlfriend Alexis Creque were photographed in a lip lock in August 2012 by Brooklyn photographer Mo Gelber after they were arrested for tagging a building. Murphy pleaded guilty in January 2013 to criminal mischief and possession of a graffiti instrument for tagging the side of a Lower East Side building where the eatery Milk and Honey was located. He was ordered to serve eight days of community service. Also busted Wednesday were Akili Baez, 21, Carmen Lasala-Ayres, 26, and Robin Drysdale, 34, all of Brooklyn; and Luis Santana, 20, of Staten Island, cops said.

Pete Seeger: The Man Who Brought Politics to Music

January 28, 2014 Dorian Lynskey, www.theguardian.com Educate! Arts, Music, Pete Seeger

Summoned to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1955, Seeger refused to wriggle out of trouble by taking the Fifth and made himself an "unfriendly" witness. While awaiting trial for contempt of Congress, and likely imprisonment, he threw himself into the civil rights movement. It was Seeger who introduced Martin Luther King to We Shall Overcome and advised civil rights activist to form their own group, the Freedom Singers. "Songs have accompanied every liberation movement in history," he wrote. "These songs will reaffirm your faith in the future of mankind." As a songwriter, Seeger was never mainstream again, not least because his protest songs were snubbed by broadcasters. With 60s anti-war songs such as Waist Deep in the Big Muddy and Bring Them Home, he was largely preaching to the choir. But he retained his power to popularise other people's songs. At a New York hootenanny in 1946, he was the first to make Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land feel like a new American classic and 23 years later he led half a million anti-war protesters in a chorus of John Lennon's Give Peace a Chance, which, he said, "united the crowd as no speech or song had been able to all afternoon". In 1974, he was the first to record Estadio Chile, the last song Victor Jara wrote before his murder by General Pinochet's thugs. Throughout his 94 years, Seeger's principles never wavered, his optimism never faltered.

Investing In Arts Boosts Economy

January 27, 2014 Crystal Shepeard, www.care2.com Create! Arts, Finance and the Economy

The writer is allowed to stay for free for two years. If they fulfill their obligations, which include engaging with the local literary community and contributing to the organization’s blog, Write a House will hand over the deed. In the end, the writer will have a (hopefully) finished project, a new home, and be a key part at revitalizing the city. As a homeowner, the writer will then be responsible for all related insurance and taxes, currently estimated at about $500 dollars per month. The hope is that these artists will remain in the communities, possibly have families and continue to contribute to the city. Their efforts will spawn new businesses, help established industries and contribute to the funding that provides health and education.

Seattle’s Monthly Community Art & Imagery Build Party

January 14, 2014 Staff, www.backbonecampaign.org Create! Arts, MLK

This Sunday January 19th is Seattle's Monthly Community Art & Imagery Build Party at the Fremont Abbey! Join progressive artists and activists and friends from 350 Seattle, WAmend, the Salish Sea Sanctuary movement, and the MLK March. Make visible and vibrant the progressive values and vision we share. Lets create a future worthy of passing onto the next generation. Support and amplify the progressive grassroots movement for human rights, dignity, and ecological well-being while we create a stronger Seattle Community. No prior skills or experience necessary. We welcome you to share your gifts and passion however you enjoy expressing them. Newest Project for this month: Prop making: Exploding Oil Trains in Seattle! We'll be painting and cutting cardboard to create a very simple and effective one sided prop of oil cars on fire and leaking oil, with messaging printed on them to spread the word about these dangerous trains coming through now with 8x as many proposed (3.5/day).

Gezi Park And The Transformative Power Of Art

January 9, 2014 Stephen Snyder, www.roarmag.org Strategize! Arts

The transformative power of creative narrative is the power to give meaning to life’s activity by keeping ahead of forces that would deny it. This transformative power, articulated in Nietzsche’s theory of transvaluation, is a fundamental dynamic of the resistance movement that sprang from the Gezi Park sit-ins. The movement erupted with an aesthetic intensity that surprised detractors as well as supporters, employing aesthetic creativity in a way that sets it apart from other protests in Turkey and the Arab world. On several levels, the young movement has become a form of artistic protest. Striking parallels are found between Nietzsche’s account of narrative transformation and the dynamic action of the people in Turkey who resist what they feel is an encroachment on their democratic rights and their way of life.

Artist’s Shooting Sparks Graffiti Revolution In Colombia

January 1, 2014 Guardian, www.thewowa.com Create! Arts

When graffiti artist DJ Lu began leaving his mark on the walls of Bogotá, he did it under the cover of night, dodging police who he knew could harass him, shake him down, arrest him, or worse."When I started out eight years ago it was risky," says DJ Lu, a prolific stencil artist whose images of a pineapple bomb, an amputee with an AK-47 as a crutch, and a soldier holding grenade balloons occupy walls citywide. "There were no real rules and anything could happen." But today, instead of hunting down graffiti artists, authorities in the Colombian capital are hiring them. It was the death of a young artist, shot by a policeman in 2011, which sparked a new tolerance of street art that has exploded into a colourful free-for-all of artistic expression.

Activism Media Skill Share In Los Angeles

December 7, 2013 Patti Beers, www.PopularResistance.org Educate! Arts, Media

This is an invitation to every activist group in the Los Angles area to come together and share ideas and strategies to improve the media strategy for each group. When: December 15 beginning at 2:00 PM Where: F Square Printing, 519 S Spring St, Los Angeles, California 90013-2303 More information from Facebook page. We need writers, editors, meme makers, video editors, live streamers, live tweeters, photographers, social media mavens, interviewers, videographers. Some proposed topics: How to live stream How to set up a news streaming channel How to build a laptop for $300. That can be used for video and media production How to control the narrative of the news story that your group is creating How to write a press release If you have a skill you would like to share please contact us.

What’s the Story With Economic Inequality?

December 7, 2013 Marcello Rollando, thereasonablevoices.wordpress.com Educate! Arts, Poetry

In the early hours of a new day, my thoughts are often filled with the crescendo and decrescendo of American life, like a freight train roaring toward me from some great distance before passing without a trace, disappearing into silence — unlike songs sung to grandchildren of the Virginia love story of Pocahontas and John Smith, or whitewashed history learned by school children of the first Thanksgiving and Plymouth Rock – all the stories we tell ourselves – all the internalized sugar and spice from the Cherry Tree to Bunker Hill, through Andersonville & The Fort Delaware Death Pen to Drones over Stop & Search New York.

Shocking Before & After Photos Show Effects Of Climate Change

December 6, 2013 Jesus Diaz, www.sploid.gizmodo.com Educate! Arts, Climate Change, Environment

Natural disasters, a warming climate, and human activities are rapidly altering the face of our planet. NASA’s Images of Change app lets you take a close-up view of many of these changes in an exciting and hands-on format. The app presents a curated collection of the best image pairs from NASA’s Global Climate Change website. These image pairs show areas that have been subject to natural disasters or seen significant change over time. Compare Alaska’s Muir Glacier in 1941 to the glacier as it looked in 2004. In this article the images change so you can see them before and after climate change impacted them. The differences are pretty dramatic. If seeing is believing this should help make some deniers into believers. You may want to share this link with people in your circle who still doubt that climate change is not occurring.

Protest Arts: Puppets To The People!

November 30, 2013 Puppeteers, www.localflux.net Resist! Arts, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Occupy, Video

We are the People’s Puppets of Occupy Wall Street, a collective of artists, musicians, and performers who have come together to use the potent and exhilarating vehicle of radical puppetry, by the People and for the People, to raise social and political awareness, build community, and offer a means of engagement in a more participatory democracy! So, we’re asking YOU to participate! By making sure we continue to have access to the space and resources we need, to do the work we do (and hell, you can even join us in it!). We build large-scale puppetry, toy theater, cantastorias, and perform throughout New York City’s public spaces, streets, subways, and parks. And we amplify the voices that need amplifying. We collaborate everywhere possible, wherever a group’s mission stems from a shared thirst for social justice. We’ve created visuals and performances with and for organizations such as the Black Institute, the Robin Hood Tax, the Coalition of Immakolee Workers, the Lakota Grandmothers, 350.org, Move to Amend, among others… We aim to carry on the extraordinary lineage set by radical puppeteers throughout history, from Bread & Puppet Theater, to Great Small Works, to the Puppetistas of the Anti-Globalization movement.

Documentary Gezi Park Chat With Filmmaker And Protesters

November 30, 2013 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Educate! Arts, Movies, Türkiye, Video

Tonight at 5pm eastern is 12am in Turkey. Come in & CHAT w/protestors & filmmaker @GeziDoc http://www.livestream.com/activistworldnewsnow … The Gezi Park protests which began on May 28th, 2013 was one of the biggest uprisings against neoliberalism and a conservative Turkish government that was encroaching on secularism. The protest began when plans were announced to develop the park, one of the last remaining green spaces in Istanbul. Sparked by an aggressive police action against the revolt, subsequently protests and strikes spread across Turkey raising a wide range of concerns, at the core of which were issues of freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and the government's encroachment on Turkey's secularism. Below are two movies on the Gezi Park revolt in Turkey.

Music Video: Occupy – Still Free (Take a Chance on Me)

November 23, 2013 Scope Studios, www.indiegogo.com Educate! Arts, Occupy

Here's a fun music video to the tune of the 1978 song "Take a Chance on Me" by the Swedish pop group ABBA. The song is played with video of Occupy events around the world. The video was made in 2012 but it reminds us of the widespread support there is for our a movement that faces up to the social and economic injustices of our times. The video was made by Scope Studios, a small, independent multimedia studio, which describes itself as having "a strong creative vision aimed at promoting the notions of social consciousness, collaboration, anarcho-socialism, and alternative communities and street cultures." Occupy. Still Here. Still Free. #M17 marks six months of American occupation and raising of social consciousness. Tents are a medium of expression, nodes for social services. We have so much yet to communicate, so much yet to give. When you're ready, we'll still be here; we'll still be free. 99%, take a chance.

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