Latoya Ruby Frazier is a black photographer who uses her camera to fight racism and social problems that people of color face. In her interview, Frazier speaks about how she spent her life using her photography and videography to spread stories and to communicate with others about the importance of many issues that people in her hometown faced. A driving force for her was the constant omitting of people of color and their problems in the local and national media. Her art focuses a lot on issues of environmental racism, access to healthcare, and socioeconomic inequality.
I found this article, the interview with Frazier, and Frazier's artwork moving and compelling because, with my studies and future career, I want intersectionality to be at the core of whatever I am working on. I know that many segments of the artistic sphere can be white washed and this piece is an important that while art can make a change, it needs to be inclusive to all. |
The authors explore different situations in which art has been used to create social change. Something important about this article compared to others is that it emphasizes how important art is to change. An important quote from Maria. X. Martinez that wraps up the article is “Artists not only document social change; they promote, inform, and shape it.”
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Showcasing five important TED Talk videos that are focused on art and social change in different ways, this article was very influential to me. Through various forms, the speakers of these videos explore the different ways art is used to push social change. All of these people are from different parts of the world, have had many different experiences, practice art in different forms, yet they all have similar, connecting ideas. That being that art can be a strong force for social change.
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This article explores the role of music in social change, in the form of protest music. Focused on musicians such as Marian Anderson and Billie Holiday, this article talks about the ways in which these artists used their voices to spread messages about the injustices people of color face. Marian Anderson had, unwittingly, become the face of people of color when she held a concert, which was later celebrated by many, at Lincoln Hall after the organization Daughters of the American Revolution wouldn’t let her perform at Constitution Hall. Billie Holiday intentionally used her voice and standing to produce and record and anti-lynching song (that was refused by her original recording company) and intentionally used her music as a political platform.
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This article focuses on five artists who use their art to fight for social change. The first person recognized is Octavia Butler whose stories were science fiction based but really focused on issues of poverty, prisons, capitalism, and war. Second is Robert Karimi (aka “Mero Cocinero Karimi” or “The Peoples Cook) uses performances centered around him cooking a large dinner party in a public space or using his mobile kitchen cart. While entertaining and fun, he spreads awareness on different community issues like food justice, gentrification, and violence. Third is Toshi Reagon who is a musician, and daughter of Bernice Johnson Reagon who was one of the original Freedom Singers during the Civil Rights Movement, whose songs are a mixture of folk, rock, funk, and gospel and move audiences into different ranges of emotions. Fourth is Akosua Adoma Owusu, daughter of Ghanaian parents, who is a filmmaker that works to create conversations between Africa and America, focusing on issues of race, slavery, and colonialism and does so in ways that are different from other filmmakers. And fifth, is Favianna Rodriguez who tackles issues of war, reproductive justice, immigrant justice, and many other issues with her poster prints and artistic installations.
I found this article important because it gives so many examples of different ways that art can be used to create a social change. And, the best thing about this article is that all five artists are people of color. For me, this is especially important so as to help build intersectionality in the artistic sphere fighting for social justice. |
This source is a list of Black American Freedom Songs during the Civil Rights Movement. I find this important to include because Freedom songs and music are some of the biggest examples of art being used to create social change. While it is not a long article, it does provide a little over 40 songs that were important in the movement.
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I'll be adding to list as I come across new inspiring reads. Check back for updates!