Art Activism: How Organisers and Artists Mobilise Movements

In conversation with FT Arts Editor, Jan Dalley, Ken will draw from historical and present-day examples—including Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock, and more—offering the audience a rich tapestry of tactics and successes that speak directly to the challenges and needs of today’s activists and of these political times.

An artist’s mural of George Floyd becomes an emblem of a renewed movement for racial equality. A documentary film injects fuel into a popular mobilization to oust a Central American dictator. Freedom songs course through the American civil rights movement.

When artists and organizers combine forces, new forms of political mobilization follow—which shape lasting social change. And yet few people appreciate how much deliberate strategy often propels this vital social change work. Behind the scenes, artists, organizers, political activists, and philanthropists have worked together to hone powerful strategies for achieving the world we want and the world we need.

In Art Works, noted movement leader Ken Grossinger chronicles these efforts for the first time, distilling lessons and insights from grassroots leaders and luminaries such as Ai Weiwei, Courtland Cox, Jackson Browne, Shepard Fairey, Jane Fonda, Elizabeth Alexander, Bill McKibben, JR, Jose Antonio Vargas, and more.

In conversation with FT Arts Editor, Jan Dalley, Ken will draw from historical and present-day examples—including Black Lives Matter, Standing Rock, the Hip Hop Caucus, the Legacy Museum, and the Art for Justice Fund—offering the audience a rich tapestry of tactics and successes that speak directly to the challenges and needs of today’s activists and of these political times.

Speakers

Ken Grossinger has been a leading strategist in movements for social and economic justice for thirty-five years, in unions and community organizations, and as director of Impact Philanthropy in Democracy Partners. Among other cultural projects, he co-executive produced the award-winning Netflix documentaries The Social Dilemma and The Bleeding Edge.

Jan Dalley is the FT’s arts editor. She is responsible for the FT’s coverage of all the art forms, from opera to hiphop, sculpture to pop, film, theatre and more in the weekday pages as well as in Life & Arts in FT Weekend. She also writes features, interviews and occasional columns.

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Art Activism: How Organisers and Artists Mobilise Movements

Attendance is restricted to Conduit members

Upcoming Events

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An Evening with Julia Gillard – Oct 4th

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