Artists and scholars have long been at the forefront of protest movements in the United States and around the world. Whether by direct action or through their work, they have been instrumental in calling out injustice, fighting for the rights of marginalized groups, and drawing attention to problems both local and global in scale. In these fraught political times, the necessity of art that responds to injustice is never more urgent. Sarah Lawrence College and the Mayapple Center for the Arts and Humanities will jointly provide a forum for artists and scholars to reflect on their own practice of activist art, and more broadly, on the potential(s) for art as political resistance in America in 2018.
This one-day workshop will begin with a panel discussion with artists Dar Williams, Mahogany L. Browne, Felix Endara, and David Birkin and scholars Nicolaus Mills and Michelle Slater on their personal practice of art activism and the possibilities and problems of art activism as political resistance. Participants will continue the conversation generated in the panel in an informal lunch with other artist participants. After lunch, participants will convene in a generative session of their choosing with program faculty—Dar Williams (music), Mahogany L. Browne (poetry), Nicolaus Mills (journalism), David Birkin (visual arts), and Felix Endara (film and television)—further delving into art activism in their area of interest. Themes will include crafting a successful political op-ed piece, creating communities as social capital through music, resisting through poetry, telling transgender narratives through theatre and film, and considering ways that visual arts can carve out a space for free thinking and resistance. The day will conclude with a group discussion on collaboration among artists/artistic disciplines in the service of activism and steps for moving forward.
This one-day workshop previews a ten-day residential workshop on art as political resistance planned for June 2019 at Sarah Lawrence College. Program admission ($25) includes all programming and a catered lunch. Vegetarian and vegan lunch options are available. Sarah Lawrence alumni, faculty, staff, and students may attend at no cost.