Is a New Artistic Activism Emerging via Social Media and Forms of Public Protest?

Daria Daniel February 15, 2015 ShareShare This Article

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Recent world crises have elicited an unprecedented response on social media and brought on new forms of artistic protest. Think of the brave Mexican artists who have been standing naked in public to protest student killings, shared everywhere online, or take a look at the pictures below for a visual recap of other artistic protests over the past few months. They got me thinking: is a new artistic activism emerging via social media and forms of public protest?

Today, when we speak of social activism, it seems we are referring to a diluted version, one in which posting photographs in the name of a cause is sufficient action. With the accessibility of media and social networking outlets, our political consciences have never been more in tune, yet the ways in which we protest have been reduced to transient “likes” on an Instagram account.

The slogans we perpetuate, #jesuischarlie #iammuath #bringbackourgirls #ferguson #icantbreathe, are important. In many ways, they have reinvented the power of popular will by rallying supporters, spreading awareness and exerting political pressure. But are they enough?

Perhaps, as the New Yorker’s Malcolm Gladwell posited in 2010, the reason these campaigns are able to reach such high volumes is because not much is actually being asked of people. To “post,” “like,” “share,” or “hashtag” takes seconds in time and involves little to no personal investment. These acts of solidarity may put our conscience at ease but they are creating a new breed of zombie social activism. What it does yield is easy social praise, so that even in its most generous form, this is social activism for the lazy.

Earlier this summer, Naunihal Singh lamented over the bleak status of the over two hundred Nigerian school girls still missing. “A viral hashtag, it seems, is a fever that breaks quickly,” he concludes.

In this climate, we must ask ourselves how social media is transforming our response and whether this response is adequate for the world unfolding before us.

Here, we look at five seminal events from the past year that have changed the landscape of civic response to international crises. Public reaction has taken the form of lyrically powerful but perhaps practically empty hashtags and Instagram illustrations. At the same time, artists have become all the more politically charged. And so, it is worth taking a closer look at the relationship between art and politics, media and conflict.

Murder of Muath Al-Kasasbeh, Jordanian pilot

#iammuath (8000 Instagram hashtags)

The ghastly murder of Al-Kasasbeh at the hands of ISIS has inspired a strong social media campaign spearheaded by heroic illustrations of his fighter jet.

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