Books on Arts Activism

Alphabetical by author's last name. (Please tell us about others we should add!) Barndt, Deborah, Wild Fire: Art as Activism, Sumach Press (May 15, 2006) A collection of personal essays written by artists and activists who share their stories and experiences of creating and teaching with a focus on the inseparability of art and social change. The book is broken up into four parts: Art in Social Movements; Art as Activism; Eco Art; and Art Heals. Borrup, Thomas C. Creative Community Builder's Handbook: How to Transform Communities Using Local Assets, Arts, and Culture, Fieldstone Alliance (August 2, 2006). Even many people who care deeply about creative expression discount the power of art projects when it comes to urgent issues such as urban decline and the fraying of our social fabric. Fixing problems like these calls for pragmatic and sensible solutions, like a new shopping center or youth programs. Thankfully, Tom Borrup--longtime director of Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis and now a consultant, teacher, and writer about community development--buries this widely mistaken belief with an avalanche of real-world evidence. Cleveland, William. Art in Other Places: Artists at Work in America's Community and Social Institutions, Praeger Publishers (2000) Writers, performers, and artists have shown that the arts can have a significant positive effect on the lives of hospital patients, prisoners, the elderly, the disabled, the mentally ill, and others in institutional settings. This volume recounts the histories of 22 institutional and community arts programs across the country pioneering this emerging field. Consisting largely of first-hand accounts, the book recounts how the creative processes have been used to address and solve some of society's most pressing problems. Included are case studies, research, and descriptions of the wide variety of artistic, educational, and therapeutic approaches utilized by each of the 22 programs. Cleveland, William. Art and Upheaval: Artists on the World's Frontlines, New Village Press (March 1, 2008) Artists on the World's Frontlines" is an assortment of stories of people of the arts, be they actor, writer, painter, playwright or such, standing up for their beliefs. Ecco Publishes Comic Book on Fishing and the Environment http://fieldmuseum.org/ecco-publishes-comic-book-fishing-and-environment You can download this comic book from the Chicago Field Museum (here's the link: http://fieldmuseum.org/sites/default/files/FishTalesm.pdf). This little comic is packed with information. Fauad-Luke, Alastair. Design Activism: Beautiful Strangeness for a Sustainable World, Earthscan Publications Ltd. (June 2009). This book provides a rigorous exploration of design activism that will revitalize the design debate and provide a solid platform for students, teachers, design professionals and other practitioners interested in transformative (design) activism. It provides a comprehensive study of contemporary and emergent design activism, collating, synthesizing and analyzing design activist approaches, processes, methods, tools and inspirational examples/outcomes from around the world. Inspired by past design activists and set against the context of global-local tensions, expressions of design activism are mapped. Green, Susan. Bread and Puppet: Stories of Struggle and Faith from Central America, Backcountry Publications, (April 1985) Gregory, Sam. Video for Change: A Guide for Advocacy and Activism, Pluto Press (November 1, 2005). This is a serious book for emerging documentary professionals who want to work on social justice issues. The book is closely tied to the organization Witness, and their pioneering work training and partnering with front-line NGOs around the world documenting human rights abuses. Hartnett, Stephen John. Challenging the Prison-Industrial Complex: Activism, Arts, and Educational Alternatives, University of Illinois Press (December 13, 2010). The collection includes case studies of successful prison arts and education programs in Michigan, California, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania that provide creative and intellectual resources typically denied to citizens living behind bars. (Coming soon) Klanten, R. Art & Agenda: Political Art and Activism, Die Gestalten Verlag (June 22, 2011) Art & Agenda explores the impact of political activism on contemporary art. The book introduces a variety of artists who are advocating political and social reform on a local or a global scale. Some are influenced by the traditions of Agitprop and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and work with posters, urban interventions, or graphic design. Others prefer established art forms such as painting, sculpture, or performance. MacPhee, Josh. Realizing the Impossible: Art Against Authority, AK Press (January 1, 2007). An inclusive and sprawling collection of art and writings. Do-it--yourself printmaking, Zapatista video, street art in Argentina’s popular uprisings, radical puppetry, the monuments to Haymarket martyrs, turn-of-the-century Australian Industrial Workers of the World printmakers, illustrator Clifford Harper, and wobbly poet Carlos Cortez are just a few themes in this collection that bridges time and geographical and cultural boundaries. MacPhee, Josh. Reproduce and Revolt, Soft Skull Press; Bilingual edition (May 15, 2008) The book collects the work of dozens of important political artists from around the world. Both a striking collection of images and a graphic toolbox for political activists, the book contains illustrations and graphics covering issues such as war, the environment, immigration, the media, feminism, queer liberation, antiauthoritarianism, and police brutality. Clear instructions help readers use the images to achieve maximum impact. Naidus, Beverly, Arts for Change: Teaching Outside the Frame, New Village Press (April 1, 2009) Arts for Change presents strategies and theory for teaching socially engaged art with an historical and contemporary overview of the field. The book features interviews with over thirty maverick artists/faculty from colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain, whose pedagogy is drawn from and informs activist arts practice. Reed, T.V. The Art of Protest: Culture and Activism from the Civil Rights Movement to the Streets of Seattle, University of Minnesota Press; 1 edition (July 1, 2005). In comparative accounts of movements beginning with the African American civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and running through the Internet-driven movement for global justice ("Will the revolution be cybercast?") of the twenty-first century. Reed explores the street drama of the Black Panthers, the revolutionary murals of the Chicano movement, the American Indian Movement's use of film and video, rock music and the struggles against famine and apartheid, ACT UP's use of visual art in the campaign against AIDS, and the literature of environmental justice. Schwarzman, Mat. Beginner's Guide to Community-Based Arts, New Village Press (October 1, 2005) Ten transformative local arts projects come alive in this illustrated training manual for youth leaders and teachers. This energetic guidebook demonstrates the enormous power of art in grass-roots social change. It presents proven models of community-based arts programs, plus techniques, discussion questions, and plentiful resources. Senge, Peter, et.al. Necessary Revolution:How individuals and organizations are working together to create a sustainable world, Doubleday (June 2008) Smith, Keri, The Guerilla Art Kit, Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (July 26, 2007) The Guerilla Art Kit shows how small artistic acts can start a revolution. Keri Smith, author of Living Out Loud and the blog Wish Jar Journal, uses her unique drawing and handwriting style to help anyone find and release their inner artist or activist. From the quick exercises leaving books for strangers to find, chalking quotes on the sidewalk to the more involved making a "wish tree," guerilla gardening, or making your own stencils. Wheatley, Margaret. Perseverance, Berrett-Koehler Publishers (September 1, 2010) Perseverance is designed to offer guidance, challenge, clarity and consolation to all the people doing their work day-by-day. The topics are not the usual inspiring, feel good, rah-rah messages. Instead, Wheatley focuses on the situations, feelings, and challenges that can, over time, cause us to give up or lose our way. Perseverance is a discipline—it’s a day-by-day decision not to give up. Therefore, we have to notice the moments when we feel lost or overwhelmed or betrayed or exhausted and note how we respond to them. And we have to notice the rewarding times, when we experience the joy of working together on something hard but worthwhile, when we realize we’ve made a small difference. Yeh, Lily. Awakening Creativity, Dandelion School Blossoms, New Village Press (May, 2011) Awakening Creativity: Dandelion School Blossoms" is a call for social change through creativity from Lily Yeh, as she shares her own drive to make the world a better place through art and tells her story of turning a wasted factory space in Beijing into something that is so much more - the Dandelion school, aimed at the local children to give them inspiration for a better future. With a certain dedication, "Awakening Creativity" comes with a powerful message that definitely should not be overlooked.
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