The other day as apart of my summer internship with the Laundromat Project I visited and connected with several artists from The People’s Climate Art Collective. Remember that massive march that took place last year against climate change? If you attended, I’m sure you remember how much rad art there was. I couldn’t go because I had to work, but I know several who did go AND saw many photos from the March, and just from that I saw how the role art played in the march.
This past year’s onslaught of viral videos of brutally has been particularly challenging for me. I often think about the importance of art in freedom movements and why it’s so necessary. It’s because people don’t need degrees or even need to be literate to understand certain imagery, and that’s powerful stuff. In fact, the organizers talked about how intentional they were making art a primary factor of the march from the beginning of the planning days. So it was incredible to hear that the major funders of the march believed in it also & provided money to artist to help make signs, do performance art, etc.
This intersection of art + activism made me think of the plethora of artists here at FIT. It’s interesting how the skills learned here are completely transferable, one could be working at a design firm, fashion magazine or freedom fighter, but it all starts with a solid base and understanding of how to communicate messages through art.
All Things Color, Love & Fashion,
Ayanna Lane