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The Art of Activism: Your All-Purpose Guide to Making the Impossible Possible
The Art of Activism is an all-purpose guide to artistic activism, combining the creative power of the arts to move us emotionally with the strategic planning of activism necessary to bring about social change. With contemporary case studies and historical examples, chapters on cultural and cognitive theory, sections on what can be learned from unlikely sources like popular culture and marketing techniques, along with investigations into ethics and evaluation, explorations of the creative process and the importance of utopian thinking, and an attached workbook with over fifty exercises to practice, the co-founders of the Center for Artistic Activism take readers step-by-step through the process of becoming, or becoming even better, artistic activists.
368 pages, Paperback
Published November 30, 2021
11 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 2, 2025
Provided some hard truths on why normal protesting is ineffective. Pushes you to be more creative and strategic with your goals.
July 4, 2022
Loved every page of this book! I read mine as part of the C4AA's Learning Labs programme and it has totally changed the art game for me! I had to really rethink my approach to artistic activism which was at times very confronting but necessary and I am so grateful for that. There are countless amazing artistic examples throughout which provided me with lots of inspiration. This book also offered me plenty of practical advice which I feel comfortable taking forward now. I have recommended this to other creatives and am so delighted to be part of this incredible community with such passionate people!
December 10, 2025
Subtitled "Your All-Purpose Guide to Making the Impossible Possible", this is a very practical guide to using creative approaches to activism, to achieve concrete outcomes. Creative approaches to activism inspire, energise and engage people who might remain unengaged even after signing petitions or joining a march. The text is accessibly written and accompanied by lots of illustrations, including a surprising number of rabbits!
The book includes a historical overview of artistic activism, including the storytelling of Jesus, the spectacle of the Boston Tea Party and a 1968 action by native Americans to claim Alcatraz Island. The authors also examine some of their own projects, drawing out for example, what a group of American Muslim activists learned from watching the Fast and Furious films. These and other examples are analysed to show why they worked, giving the reader insight into how best to use creative approaches to activism and what pitfalls to avoid.
Case studies include: Undocubus, a bus decorated with pictures of the migratory Monarch butterfly, that tours the USA with riders who have been threatened with deportation, raising awareness of the issues around migration. Project by No Papers, No Fears.
Journal Rappé, a rap news broadcast in Senegal.
War on Smog, a performance action in China.
The physical book is supported by an online workbook, which is full of practical exercises designed to make you more creative, whether or not you want to apply that to activism.
The book includes a historical overview of artistic activism, including the storytelling of Jesus, the spectacle of the Boston Tea Party and a 1968 action by native Americans to claim Alcatraz Island. The authors also examine some of their own projects, drawing out for example, what a group of American Muslim activists learned from watching the Fast and Furious films. These and other examples are analysed to show why they worked, giving the reader insight into how best to use creative approaches to activism and what pitfalls to avoid.
Case studies include: Undocubus, a bus decorated with pictures of the migratory Monarch butterfly, that tours the USA with riders who have been threatened with deportation, raising awareness of the issues around migration. Project by No Papers, No Fears.
Journal Rappé, a rap news broadcast in Senegal.
War on Smog, a performance action in China.
The physical book is supported by an online workbook, which is full of practical exercises designed to make you more creative, whether or not you want to apply that to activism.
October 23, 2022
read as part of the online learning lab organised by the center for artistic activism.
a really accessible and interesting book about how to harness the power of creativity and art to make activism more powerful (aeffective).
comes with a free workbook with lots of exercises to apply the theories in the book and share tools to help think outside the box and come up with bold new ideas for activism.
a really accessible and interesting book about how to harness the power of creativity and art to make activism more powerful (aeffective).
comes with a free workbook with lots of exercises to apply the theories in the book and share tools to help think outside the box and come up with bold new ideas for activism.
February 15, 2023
Accessing the power of art and imagination for social change. Getting beyond the march.
July 7, 2025
There is an incredible amount of information in this book. Also, fantastic ideas. Overwhelming in both the negative and the positive. I suspect I’ll be reaping actions and ideas in the future.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews