by Amelie Clark
Artivism has grown in popularity recently, and you might have seen pieces of Artivism pop up around urban areas, like in the form of murals in city centers. But what exactly is Artivism? The literal word Artivism combines both art and activism. It is essentially art that has a deeper meaning and comments on the issues of our world. It is a new way to speak up on political issues and is a creative form of spreading awareness. The beauty of Artivism comes from the fact that it can take virtually any shape: a mural, a painting, graffiti, an insulation, or practically anything that is art. Activism is quite a new form of art- seeming to originate from the late 90s- it was a way for artists in Los Angeles and parts of Mexico to speak up about what they thought was wrong with the world, in the way they best knew how to. Artivism can cover a variety of topics, from anti-war, anti-consumerism, anti-racism, feminism, and the list goes on. One extremely popular topic today is climate change.
Climate change being the center of Artivism can be seen from a recent installation in Florida in partnership with the Florida Climate Crisis Campaign and the CLEO Institute. In one of their Artivism pieces, orange wax can be seen melting down the body of a panther as the day goes on and the air gets warmer. As the wax melts off from the heat, the words “More heat less wildlife” are displayed. This interactive piece of art is taking a stand on human caused climate change and how it is not only affecting us as humans, but also animals and wildlife. Global warming is an extremely serious issue in Florida as they feel some of the bleak and extreme effects of it first. This is because they are in a warmer climate and also a coastal region which means they can be affected by sea level rises and hurricanes. Florida is also home to a diverse wildlife that is being severely negatively impacted. This panther was just one of three Artivism pieces by the CLEO institute (the second Artivist piece of a melting lifeguard hut is pictured below), and this art pieces is just one of many more pieces around the world.
Images 1-3: Wax figure of panther in Florida revealing the words “More heat less wildlife”
Images 4-5: Wax lifeguard stand also from the CLEO Institute
One Artivist that many of us have heard of for their shredding art piece is British artist Banksy. Banksy often comments on the inequality faced in our society as seen from one of their graffiti pieces shown below. Here, a businessman is displayed holding a growth arrow (often displayed on stock or economic graphs) like a whip and threatening children and the working class- a comment on how big businesses and the rich hurt the lower classes for their own advantage. Another one of Banksy’s pieces can be seen below with a girl holding a balloon that helps spell out “no future”. This is another Artivism piece that is criticizing our society's handling of climate change and how if humans keep going at the rate that we are going, future generations will be left with nothing.
Images 6-7: Banksy graffiti pieces of businessman and young girl
Overall, Artivism shows that art can be much more powerful than some of us might think
and that the beauty of Artivism comes from the fact that practically anyone can do it. So, I encourage you to create an art piece revolving around an issue that you find important and share it with others to spread awareness (and maybe even submit it to LUX)!
Want to learn more about the Artivism movement and see some amazing artwork?: