This week's reading dealt with the rise of art-based activism, particularly street art that represents the struggle of a minority group. The message of street art, oftentimes in itself a subversive act against authority, is compounded when it deals with complex topics like police brutality, racial discrimination, and gentrification. These topics overwhelming affect minority groups, who are often lacking the support system to change these circumstances. In addition to being without a support system, the platform for these issues to made public, usually media coverage, is hard to come by. Thus, public spaces become a modern-day, silent forum of sorts, where the strife of the oppressed group is expressed in art. The clandestine nature of street art allows it to persist and grow as more people add their own "opinions" to the mix, creating a collaborative piece about a shared struggle. The unity found in the creation of street art activism is incredible. The public nature of the work spreads the message in an efficient and arresting manner.
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This is it.Mira Naidoo's riveting account of 32 days in Berlin and Jena, Summer 2015. Archives
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