artWork: Art, Labour and Activism brings together a variety of perspectives on contemporary cultural production and activism in order to interrogate how the concepts of art, labour and activism intersect in practices for social change. What can we learn about contemporary art and politics by looking at the intersections between art, labour and activism? What theoretical tools can help us arrive at a deeper understanding of these intersections? In order to address these questions, this collection explores the role of art as activism, the use of social media and technology in creative production and organising, the politics of artmaking, the commodification of culture and the possibility of a creative commons, and the work of artist activists as educators. In addition to offering a variety of new perspectives from researchers and practitioners, it proposes new paths towards interdisciplinary research in this field that combine sociological, anthropological, philosophical and art theory perspectives. It will be of interest to students and scholars interested in creative labour, social movements and political arts practice.
Preface/Introduction/ 1. Reimaging, Reimagining, or Reimagineering: Rebranding Ulster, Sarah Feinstein and Sheelagh Colclough/ 2. Art, Activism, and Addressing Sexual Assault in the UK: A Case Study, Winnie M Li/ 3. Macao before and beyond social media: the creation of the unexpected as a mobilisation logic, Alberto Cossu and Maria Francesca Murru/ 4. The Political Value of Techno-future, Emanuele Braga/ 5. Changing the Narrative: Highlighting Workers' Rights in Environmental Art Activism, Paula Serafini/ 6. Working Dancers; contemporary dance activism in Argentina, Konstantina Bousmpoura and Julia Martinez Heimann/ 7. Making Art Relevant in the Aftermath of the Egyptian Uprising, Rounwah Bseiso/ 8. Collective art-making to agitate for social change: Liberate Tate in parallel with The Wooster Group, Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp, Forced Entertainment, La Pocha Nostra, Climate Camp and Occupy Wall Street, Mel Evans/ 9. Embracing failure, educating hope: some arts activist educators' concerns in their work for social justice, Jane Trowell/ 10. In Case of Emergency Make Art: Exploring the (non)function of art in response to humanitarian disasters, Jessica Holtaway/ 11. Post- Autonomous Art and Common People in Barcelona, Roger Sansi/ Conclusion: Art, Labour and Activism, Notes for Future Research, Alberto Cossu, Jessica Holtaway and Paula Serafini/ Acknowledgements/ Index
