“Artistic practices that merge creative expression with political engagement.”

This is how artivism is described in the book Chicana/o Artivism: Judy Baca's Digital Work with Youth of Color (Sandoval & Latorre, 2008). The mixture of art and activism.

In my artistic practice, I have always felt the need to create art with a purpose. A goal of impact on my audience. I see art as an artivistic way to convey something to the audience; it can be simple entertainment but also serve as a medium for a powerful political message.

The book Trust: Building on the Cultural Commons (2024) by Pascal Gielen provides a great handle on how art can be used in activism and in society. One of his assertions is that art which only highlights the flaws of society does not bring about change. He uses activism in art to show a new reality, build toward something, and in that way bring about change. In his view, activist art that merely highlights societal problems fails to bring about change regarding the identified social issue. He therefore argues that the power of activism in art lies in the creation of new, alternative social spaces, a kind of micro-society where a new form of social interaction can be tested. The foundation of this experiment is trust; trust between the artist and the audience to approach the art with an open mind, without any preconceived conclusions. He argues that the focus should instead be on openness and new experiences rather than solely trust.

Artivism aims to bring about change in society and politics. The way this is achieved is through creative expression. As I demonstrate in my examples, this creative expression can take various forms. Project4Equality and 2026WOMEN focus on an individual approach through workshops and personal contact. Other artists reach people online via digital art forms. Other art achieves a wide reach through installations and digital platforms, such as the project “I WOKE UP NAKED” (Parsa & Parsa, 2019) and Lady Gaga’s “Till It Happens to You” (LadyGagaVEVO, 2015).

 I have been able to incorporate this perspective into my own belief that the issue of women’s safety is often viewed as a women’s issue that women protest against. Since we live in a world where women’s safety is not always a given, I would very much like to do my best to raise awareness of this issue as much as possible and work toward change. Not only to show stories but with engaging men, therefore cultivating interaction on this subject that will (or might) lead to change.

The philosopher Brian Massumi writes in his work The Politics of Affect (Massumi, n.d.) about affect in politics in combination with art. He even describes his work as a form of activist philosophy. His idea is that art not only provides information but also creates feelings and experiences. That emotional experience can make people think or act differently. 

Massumi talks about new realities created by art. He challenges the idea that art should be overly direct to achieve its message. He recommends the idea that art should be used experimental and open to interpretation. For Massumi, activism in art does not have to take the form of a protest to be considered activism. He views activism in art as a means of shifting perspectives and focuses more on the viewer’s emotional response.

“The capacity to affect and to be affected.” (Massumi, n.d.)

This sentence means, then, that activist art should focus on evoking emotions and provoking reactions, thereby ensuring that an activist artwork can have an impact on people. To bring this idea full circle, the artist must also be willing to be influenced by the audience; that is the “trust” Pascal Gielen referred to in his book.