Marty Branagan explains the role of the arts in promoting causes. This paper is an extended version of one delivered by the author as part of a workshop given on 21/10/02 at the national Art of Dissent conference held at the Victorian Arts Centre as part of the Melbourne Arts Festival. It was published in Dissent magazine, Autumn/Winter 2003 issue.
I believe that the use of the Arts by activists has been and continues to be an effective method of protest and social change in Australia.
Making artworks can also be the ‘flipside’ of protest, providing a balanced approach. As well as being critical of a particular policy or activity, artist/activists can be creative and productive, thus balancing negativity with a positive element. This fits with what Gandhi advocated – creating parallel or new institutions as well as acting against corrupt ones, to help create a new future through positive action.
To read the full article download the PDF from the box below. Please note this a scanned version of a hardcopy article so is not able to be read by accessibility programs. The article is provided courtesy of the author, Marty Branagan, who has also written the novel Locked On!