Art Is Our Weapon: Creative Activism in Times of Crisis

Histories of activist art have remained hidden precisely because of their success— what were once radical artistic experiments are now taken for granted as simply "what a protest looks like." Written by curator Gavin Grindon, an artist-collaborator with Banksy and other socially engaged artists, Art Is Our Weapon tells the stories of artists who created new forms of political action, exploring how avant-garde practices have informed protest movements around the world.

Focusing on specific movements and art groups—including the Dadaists, surrealists, Situationist International, Led by Donkeys, and Pussy Riot—Art Is Our Weapon reveals the hidden threads of solidarity that connect these groups and protests. Global in approach, it follows the trail of activist art practices shared internationally from movement to movement alongside the emergence of new struggles against war, fascism, patriarchy, queerphobia, and environmental destruction. Alongside more traditional art forms, it also explores tactical interventions in the public space, from anti-fascist marching band parades to gnome protests against state communism, and vandalism of statues to soup-throwing spectacles—strategies that are often equal parts serious and absurd.

In doing so, Art Is Our Weapon offers new ways of thinking about politics, propaganda, and what it means for art to succeed.