Cultural Activism in Communities
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Cultural activism in the
community
Michael Buser & Jane Arthurs
1
Cultural activism in the
community
Michael Buser & Jane Arthurs
Executive Summary
This
discussion
paper
explores
literature
and
debates
on
cultural
activism
and
communities
of
place.
Cultural
activism
is
defined
as
a
set
of
creative
practices
and
activities
which
challenge
dominant
interpretations
and
constructions
of
the
world
while
presenting
alternative
socio-‐political
and
spatial
imaginaries
in
ways
which
challenge
relationships
between
art,
politics,
participation
and
spectatorship.
In
our
paper,
we
present
a
small
range
of
cultural
activist
practices
(e.g.,
culture
jamming,
subvertising,
rebel
clowning)
which
call
upon
irony,
humour
and
the
carnivalesque
to
disrupt
commonly-‐held
understandings
and
ways
of
constructing
the
world.
Our
broad
aim
is
to
tease
out
the
ways
these
practices
imagine
and
conduct
‘resistance’,
present
future
imaginaries
and
engage
audiences
in
situated
community
environments.
In
doing
so,
we
consider
how
temporality
and
ephemerality
might
contribute
to
the
development
of
radical,
autonomous
spaces
and
opportunities
for
democratic
debate
and
political
contestation.
The
paper
also
summarises
associated
scholarly
and
community-‐based
work
including
the
project
seminar
where
participants
discussed
cultural
activism
as
well
as
collaborative
work
with
activists
in
Stokes
Croft,
Bristol.
Researchers and Project Partners
Michael Buser, Centre for Sustainable Planning and Environments, University of the
West of England
Jane Arthurs, Director of Research, Faculty of Arts, Creative Industries and Education,
University of the West of England
Key words
Cultural Activism; Creative Practice; Resistance; Stokes Croft; Temporality;
Performativity; Rebel Clown; Culture Jamming;
2
Cultural activism in the community
This review examines cultural activism, a type of organising where ‘art, activism, performance and
politics meet, mingle and interact’ (Verson 2007: 172). This includes engagement with a broad
spectrum of creative practice such as theatre, performance, music, art, poetry and literature and
other means of engaging sensory experiences as a means to challenge dominant ways of seeing and
constructing the world. Notable examples include culture jamming, subvertising, muralling, rebel
clowning, urban knitting, guerrilla urbanism, political theatre and many other whimsical, non-‐violent
approaches to protest and activism.
In
discussing
cultural
activism,
contemporary
accounts
often
bypass
the
political
activism
of
the
1970s
and
1980s
around
race,
immigration,
feminism
and
women’s
rights,
youth,
LGBT
rights
and
other
forms
of
identity-‐based
activism
which
also
displayed
both
creative
and
political
elements
(for
example,
Cohen
1993).
Rather,
scholarly
reviews
commonly
situate
these
practices
within
the
lineage
of
the
20th
century
avant-‐garde
movements
of
the
Dadists,
Surrealists
(Fenton,
2004),
Guy
Debord’s
Society
of
the
Spectacle
(1967)
and
Situationists
International
(Ford
2005;
Scholl
2011;
Grindon
2011)
as
well
as
the
counter-‐culture
activist
movements
of
the
1960s
typified
by
the
Diggers
and
the
Yippies.
While
it
is
impossible
to
point
to
a
single,
unifying
political
ideology,
cultural
activism
is
commonly
framed
by
diverse
concerns
around
social
and
environmental
justice,
authoritarianism,
capitalism,
consumption,
globalisation
and
the
pursuit
of
reinvigorated
lived
experience.
The
most
visible
of
these
efforts
has
been
the
activism
surrounding
the
alter-‐globalisation
and
anti-‐capitalism
movements
typified
by
summit
disruption
protests,
Global
Days
of
Action
and
the
Occupy
movement.
Our
interest
in
this
paper
is
to
tease
out
implications
for
‘place-‐based’
community
activism
and
environments
–
situating
these
processes
in
a
neighbourhood
orientated
concept
of
community
activism.
This
paper
is
organised
by
three
broad
concepts
positioning
cultural
activism
as
a
set
of
activities
which:
a) challenge
dominant
constructions
of
the
world
b) present
alternative
socio-‐political
and
spatial
imaginaries
c) disrupt
relationships
between
art,
politics,
participation
and
spectatorship.
3
A) Challenging dominant constructions
As a critique of hegemonic constructions of the world, cultural activism can be seen as a practice of
cultural resistance (Duncombe 2002). David Pinder describes cultural activism as ‘those radical and
creative practices that are ‘critical and politicized in relation to dominant power relations and their
spatial constitution’ (2008: 731). It is an activism that seeks to disrupt commonly-‐held assumptions
and expectations about the world.
The contemporary resurgence of cultural activism is often traced to the Zapatista Army of National
Liberation, a rebellion founded by indigenous people in the state of Chiapas, Mexico in 1994 who
sought to challenge global processes of neoliberal capitalism (Johnston 2000; Carrigan 1995;
Johnston and Laxer 2003). While the initial armed uprising was quickly repressed, the Zapatista’s
ongoing struggles and global calls to resist neoliberalism inspired and energised activists around the
world (Ryan 2008). For activists and academics alike, the Zapatistas re-‐defined and revised ideas
around Justice and liberty for a post-‐modern age, challenging subordination in Mexico by
transforming their ethnic identity ‘from fragmented, ethnically distinct communities to pluricultural
coexistence in regional and national arenas’ (Nash 1997: 261). For some, this worldwide rebellion
and call to ‘practice Zapatismo in any way possible, in any place possible’ was a precursor to the
alter-‐globalism protests of the late 1990s as well as a more general reintroduction of the
‘carnivalesque’ in protest and activist movements.
In
the
UK,
carnivalesque
tactics
are
commonly
associated
with
activist
groups
such
as
Reclaim
the
Streets
(RTS)
and
the
Clandestine
Insurgent
Rebel
Clown
Army
(CIRCA).
Founded
in
London
in
the
early
1990s,
RTS
famously
merged
protests
with
parties,
‘taking
over
streets
and
turning
them
into
pulsing,
dancing,
temporary
carnivals
in
their
demand
for
public
space’
(Duncombe
2007:
68).
In
retelling
the
movement’s
origins,
John
Jordon
noted
the
emergence
of
‘a
new
breed
of
artist
activist’
(2002:
350)
who
called
upon
Situationist-‐inspired
tactics
of
détournement
–
e.g.,
closing
roads
to
traffic
and
holding
parties
in
the
streets.
This
reversal
of
hierarchy
and
order
–
the
transformation
of
so-‐called
dead
motorway
into
living
human
space
–
was
celebrated
by
RTS
and
their
carnivaleque
construction
of
‘a
world
inside
out’
(Bakhtin
1968).
CIRCA,
another
example
of
‘tactical
carnival’,
was
founded
in
2003
in
response
to
President
Bush’s
visit
to
the
UK.
Through
their
non-‐violent,
clowning
tactics
at
summit
meetings
and
other
sites
of
intervention,
CIRCA
sought
to
upset
accepted
lines
of
confrontation,
confusing
and
subverting
dominant
cultural
codes
(Scholl
2011)
and,
in
the
process,
created
‘joyous,
diverse,
fluid
and
life
affirming’
forms
of
direct
action
and
civil
disobedience
(St.
John
2008:
179-‐180).
As
with
RTS,
CIRCA
used
performativity,
creativity,
détournement
and
the
carnivalesque
towards
counter-‐hegemonic
possibilities
through
interventions
in
specific
sites.
4
B) Alternative imaginaries
For
scholar-‐activists
such
as
Stephen
Duncombe,
cultural
activism’s
potential
is
found
not
in
a
critique
of
spectacular
society
but
in
its
ability
to
connect
with
people’s
dreams.
For
example,
in
addition
to
disruptive
interventions,
RTS
and
CIRCA
both
situated
their
activism
in
a
positive
vision
of
the
future
and
a
change-‐oriented
focus
that
was
experienced
in
collaboration
and
dialogue
with
particular
political
struggles.
Duncombe
(2007)
envisages
such
‘ethical
spectacles’
–
prefigurative,
participatory,
open-‐ended,
transparent
and
self-‐organising
forms
of
activism
–
as
attempts
to
bring
new
worlds
and
possibilities
into
being.
Paul
Routledge
highlights
how
the
practice
of
cultural
activism
can
de-‐programme
normative
spatial
functions
and
consensus
realities
by
articulating
new
imaginaries
and
meanings.
For
example,
the
presence
and
actions
of
rebel
clowns
at
summit
protests
temporarily
transformed
spaces
of
intimidation
and
coercion
into
‘clown
spaces
of
play
and
mockery’
(2012:
443).
This
ephemeral
break
with
socio-‐spatial
norms
mirrors
the
temporary
autonomous
breaches
RTS
activists
created
as
they
reclaimed
streets
for
human
use
and
enjoyment.
These
intentional
disruptions
and
disorientations
of
‘consensus
reality’
subvert
the
normative
functions
of
space
through
a
kind
of
‘festal
hacking’
–
‘a
ritual
of
de-‐reification
which
renders
power
and
contradiction
visible
at
its
most
central
and
reified
sites,
practices
which
enable
the
performance
and
construction
of
lived
alternatives’
(St
John
2008:
172).
While
there
is
clearly
evidence
of
durability
in
particular
situations
(e.g.,
Christiania
in
Copenhagen),
it
is
worth
questioning
the
value
of
tactical
carnival
where
it
is
predicated
on
the
quick
dispersion
of
the
open
spaces
it
creates
(Bogad,
2011).
Further,
as
temporary
outlets
for
‘letting
off
steam’
and
‘sanctioned
transgression’
might
these
activities
reinforce
prevailing
structures
of
privilege
and
hierarchy
(St.
John,
2008:
175)?
Reflecting
on
neighbourhood-‐based
activism
in
Brussels,
Corijn
and
Groth
(2011)
argue
that
the
forgotten
spaces,
those
left
aside
by
market
and
state
forces
(e.g.,
abandoned
buildings)
provide
unique
opportunities
for
temporary
re-‐appropriation
and
political-‐
cultural
activism,
fostering
a
type
of
insurgent
urbanism
which
clashes
with
and
challenges
dominant
perspectives
on
urban
meaning
and
regulation.
Hakim
Bey’s
Temporary
Autonomous
Zone
(TAZ)
moves
this
politics
of
temporality
a
step
further.
Advocating
disappearance
and
permanent
temporality,
these
‘pirate
utopias’
avoid
spectacular
society
altogether;
‘As
soon
as
the
TAZ
is
named
(represented,
mediated),
it
must
vanity,
it
will
vanish…once
again
invisible
because
undefinable
in
terms
of
the
Spectacle
(Bey,
2007:
93).
What
is
particularly
engaging
about
these
frames
is
their
potential
to
re-‐politicise
space.
For
example,
not
only
might
ephemerality
circumvent
or
escape
co-‐optation
and
recuperation,
but
these
conditions
might
also
enable
unique
frameworks
for
radical
thought
and
action
through
direct
(temporary)
disruptive
engagement
with
hegemonic
authority
or
an
outright
refusal
to
participate
‘in
spectacular
violence,
to
withdraw
from
the
area
of
simulation,
to
disappear’.
(Bey,
2007:
93).
At
the
level
of
‘neighbourhood’
or
communities
of
place,
this
temporality
can
be
seen
as
a
possible
contrast
to
processes
of
gentrification
often
attributed
to
artists
(e.g.,
Hoxton)
and
the
emergence
of
‘creative
quarters’
which
position
cultural
institutions
and
activities
as
a
means
of
urban
regeneration.
5
C) Politics and art in cultural activism
These practices connect with longstanding debates within media and performance studies, around
the role of socially engaged art, community publics, participation and conceptions of audience
‘spectatorship’. For groups such as RTS and CIRCA, it is the very nature of open and participatory
activist encounters which lead to emancipatory moments and the development of sensuous
solidarities (Routledge 2012). Similarly, Sandlin and Milam (2008) argue that the culture jamming
practices of groups such as Adbusters and the Reverend Billy create powerful sites of learning and
foster a type of participatory, resistant cultural production. By enabling an active participation and
engaging learners corporeally, the authors argue, these creative practices hold the potential to
transform passivity into action and to draw participants into the creation of a community politic.
The
political
potential
of
these
performative
encounters
is
underpinned
by
a
belief
that
through
processes
of
active
participation
and
reciprocal
communication,
each
individual
is
capable
of
instigating
and
propelling
change
(Kanngieser
2011).
This
activation
of
the
individual
draws
upon
long-‐standing
concerns
with
audience
non-‐intervention,
exemplified
by
the
Situationists’
attempts
to
eliminate
passivity
–
a
symptom
of
the
Society
of
the
Spectacle.
Indeed,
Bishop
notes
that
since
the
1960s,
artistic
attempts
to
encourage
participation
have
generally
been
associated
with:
a) A
desire
to
create
an
active
subject,
empowered
by
the
experience
of
physical
of
symbolic
participation
b) A
gesture
of
ceding
authorial
control
through
an
egalitarian
collaborative
creativity.
c) A
perceived
crisis
in
community
and
collective
responsibility
(Bishop,
2006:
12)
These
characteristics
–
where
the
spectator/audience
is
compelled
to
take
up
a
position
towards
the
action
–
can
be
found
in
most
cultural
activist
practices.
However,
Jacques
Ranciere
recently
challenged
much
of
the
contemporary
Debordian
discourse
that
treat
the
spectator
as
an
ignorant
or
passive
figure
as
well
as
prevailing
understandings
which
equate
participation
and
‘action’
with
learning,
democracy
and
emancipation.
In
contrast,
Ranciere
claims
that
‘Being
a
spectator
is
not
some
passive
condition
that
we
should
transform
into
activity.
It
is
our
normal
situation’
(2012:
17).
Indeed,
Bishop
notes,
as
an
artistic
medium
‘participation
is
arguably
no
more
intrinsically
political
or
oppositional
than
any
other’
(2006:
12).
The
implication
here
is
that
even
as
spectators,
we
are
capable
of
interpretation
and
appropriation
in
ways
that
transcend
passive/active
dialectic.
For
cultural
activism,
the
challenge
is
to
envisage
‘ethical
spectacles’
in
a
way
that
does
not
rely
solely
on
active
participation
as
a
frame
for
questioning
hegemonic
discourse
and
opening
up
alternative
imaginaries.
6
Collaborating activities
The
research
team
conducted
two
related
and
mutually
supporting
levels
of
collaborative
activities
focusing
on:
research
and
scholarship;
and
community-‐based
activism
described
below.
Scholarship:
The
scoping
study
and
draft
papers
were
presented
at
various
stages
including:
• Urban
knitting
and
the
city:
new
uses
for
comfy
jumpers,
Centre
for
Sustainable
Planning
and
Environments
(UWE)
seminar
(14.02.12);
• Cultural
activism
and
the
politics
of
place-‐making,
Planning
Research
Conference
(Birmingham)
13.04.12)
• Beyond
the
rebel
clowns:
cultural
activism
and
place-‐making,
Digital
Cultures
Research
Centre
(UWE)
seminar
(02.05.12)
• Cultural
activism
and
the
politics
of
place-‐making,
Interpretive
Policy
Analysis
Conference,
Tilburg,
Netherlands
(06.07.12)
• Spectacular
activism,
project
workshop,
Bristol
(04.09.12)
The
project
workshop
was
held
in
Bristol
on
4
September
2012
and
brought
together
~60
participants
across
the
disciplines
of
urban
studies,
activism,
art,
sociology,
psychosocial
studies,
women’s
studies,
media
studies,
performance
studies,
and
cultural
geography.
The
aim
was
to
strengthen
interdisciplinary
exchange
and
generate
enthusiasm
for
a
new
research
agenda
around
the
notion
of
cultural
activism
in
communities.
Themes
which
emerged
included:
• limited
communication
between
literatures
related
to
cultural
activism,
community,
and
cultural
resistance;
• a
number
of
unresolved
tensions:
solidarity/exclusion;
insiders/outsiders;
resistance/co-‐
optation;
formality/informality;
temporality/permanence;
• conflicts
between
role
of
the
university,
researcher,
activists,
communities
and
activist-‐
scholars
in
understanding
or
participating
in
activist
processes;
• a
debate
related
to
time
including
notions
of
‘when
to
act’
as
well
as
comprehensive
and
durable
framings
of
art/activism
(as
opposed
to
the
traditional
‘double-‐take’
or
shock
effect).
Further information (and presentations) can be found at: [Link]
Community-‐based
activism:
included
outreach
and
discussions
with
artists
and
activists
in
Stokes
Croft,
Bristol
(People’s
Supermarket,
Coexist
and
the
Community
Kitchen
at
Hamilton
House,
the
Bearpit
Improvement
Group,
the
People’s
Republic
of
Stokes
Croft,
and
the
Matthew
Tree
Project).
In
addition,
we
brought
symposium
participants
to
Stokes
Croft
for
a
tour
and
discussion
with
local
groups
engaged
with
cultural
activism
where
we
explored
sites
of
transformation
and
spoke
about
the
role
of
art
and
creativity
in
social
and
urban
change.
A
follow-‐up
initiative
was
conducted
with
the
Bearpit
Improvement
Group
(a
community
interest
company
run
by
a
group
of
volunteers
seeking
to
transform
the
St
James
Barton
Roundabout
(known
colloquially
at
the
Bearpit)
at
the
edge
of
Stokes
Croft
into
a
welcoming,
safe,
diverse
and
inclusive
space).
Working
with
local
artists
we
installed
temporary/unusual
seating
to
challenge
assumptions
about
the
Bearpit
as
a
derelict,
dangerous
site
while
supporting
creative
ways
of
re-‐imagining
7
conviviality.
We
used
the
seating
(in
the
form
of
children’s
blocks)
as
a
means
to
forge
dialogue
with
the
local
community
and
celebrate
the
sharing
and
human
exchange
aspects
of
being
in
urban
public
spaces.
For
images
and
more
information
see
[Link]
and
the
Facebook
page
[Link]
Recommendations for future research
Key lessons and recommendations for investigation:
Emotions, affect and ‘sensuous solidarities’: In Stokes Croft we found that passion, the embodied
nature of activist practices, and strong affective experiences contributed to the strengthening of
social bonds, solidarity and shared understandings about place. However, these collective identities
also contributed to exclusion in certain sites. Investigations into emotional and affective experiences
could help draw out notions of place, community and identity within activist/performative
environments. This might also include understandings of activist burnout, the role of professionals
and volunteers and issues of trust related to divergent positioning as well as the potential
exclusionary characteristics of cultural activist practices.
DIY Community activism: Within the context of fiscal crisis, austerity and social unrest, DIY activism
is sometimes seen (paradoxically) as part and parcel of ‘good’ neoliberal capitalism. In such a
condition, resistance and the search for ‘alternative imaginaries’ often gives way to collaboration,
compromise and other means of ‘getting the job done’. This reflects a notable fluidity between
concepts such as resistance/co-‐optation; insider/outsider; solidarity/exclusion and so on.
Communities
of
temporality:
the
radical
and
transformative
potential
of
cultural
activism
is
often
situated
in
‘moments’
of
disruption.
Might
such
moments,
freezones
and
temporary
autonomous
zones
actively
support
a
re-‐invigorated
radical
democratic
practice?
What
do
they
offer
for
the
re-‐
politicalisation
of
urban
life?
How
do
activists
(and
academics)
transform
disruptive
moments
into
longer
term
commitments
and
sustainable
change?
Participation
and
spectatorship:
cultural
activists
use
creative
practice
and
performativity
to
challenge
hegemonic
constructions
of
the
world
and
to
advance
social
and
environmental
goals.
These
practices
are
often
framed
by
expectations
about
audience
behaviour
which
equate
passivity
with
ignorance
and
active
participation
with
learning
and
emancipation.
Ranciere
and
others
argue
for
a
more
nuanced
engagement
with
spectatorship
and
an
exploration
of
other
ways
of
learning
and
knowing.
These
debates
bring
together
the
arts
directly
into
communication
with
disciplines
such
as
urban
studies,
politics
and
others
concerned
with
democracy
and
participation.
Working
across
disciplines:
The
value
and
difficulty
of
working
across
disciplines
was
made
clear
at
our
seminar
where
we
noted
divergences
in
language
and
vocabulary,
outputs,
values
and
epistemological
framings.
However,
we
imagine
this
as
a
process
of
becoming
which
requires
an
element
of
risk-‐taking
and
displacement
from
disciplinary
norms.
8
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Further
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definitions
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available
on
the
project
website
at
[Link]
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10
External Links
Project web sites:
UWE site:
[Link]
Michael’s wordpress site:
[Link]
Our public seating ‘intervention’ on Facebook:
[Link]
The Bearpit Improvement Group
[Link]
The People’s Republic of Stokes Croft
[Link]
A few cultural activist groups and relevant information on the web:
Adbusters
[Link]
Center for Artistic Activism (Stephen Duncombe co-founder)
[Link]
Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (CIRCA)
[Link]
Platform (arts, activism, education, research)
[Link]
Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping
[Link]
The Yes Men
[Link]
Zapatista Army of National Liberation
[Link] (in Spanish)
11
The Connected Communities
Connected Communities is a cross-Council Programme being led by the AHRC in partnership
with the EPSRC, ESRC, MRC and NERC and a range of external partners. The current vision for
the Programme is:
“to mobilise the potential for increasingly inter-connected, culturally diverse,
communities to enhance participation, prosperity, sustainability, health & well-being by
better connecting research, stakeholders and communities.”
Further details about the Programme can be found on the AHRC’s Connected Communities web
pages at:
[Link]/FundingOpportunities/Pages/[Link]
1
