Are you a singer, a painter, a musician, an animator, or any other kind of artist?
Then we’ve got news for you — you’ve got the power to change the world.
From Lennon singing ‘Give Peace A Chance’ to Picasso’s ‘Guernica’, artists have always known how to speak straight to the heart, and get things changed.
Click any of the images to see them at a larger size.
TELL STORIES
If you’re a great yarn-spinner, tell the first person stories that show the human side of the big issues. They really go straight to the heart.
If you’ve got skills in writing, video or radio, so much the better — and if you haven’t, what better time to learn them?
Image by Jessica Trevino
LEAVE A DEPOSIT
Shop dropping is the opposite of shop-lifting: instead of taking from a store, you leave something.
Slip a note into a jacket pocket, pin a badge onto a lapel, or leave a drawing between the pages of a book: a political message for a future shopper to find.
Works particularly well for spreading the word on issues like sweatshop conditions, the living wage, and undesirable business connections.
This action may contravene the law in some jurisdictions: proceed with caution.
Image by Kate Charlesworth
BEAR WITNESS
The work of comic artists like Olivier Kugler and Kate Evans show us that documentary or reportage drawing can be a powerful tool.
As comic artists we might feel that we don’t have much to offer when faced with gross injustices, poverty, or warfare. But we can tell stories, and in a very immediate way.
A way that can change minds, soften hearts, even alter the political discourse.
Image by Sousa Machado Arts
RAISE FUNDS
Now more than ever, charities and services need money.
Fundraising needn’t be dreary: just find a way of making some money from what you enjoy, whether that’s running a craft fair, selling plant cuttings or drawing pictures.
Image by Steve Reynolds
REPRESENT EVERYONE
If you’re an artist who includes characters in their work (from cartoonist to scriptwriter to designer), make sure that you depict all kinds of people.
By showing characters who are disabled, non-heteronormative, from religious or ethnic minority backgrounds and so on, you can play a huge part in the public’s perception that all types of people as unremarkable or sympathetic.
Image by Kripa Joshi
HOLD AN AUCTION
Ask your artist friends to donate a piece of work, then sell it in a live auction or online, to raise money for a cause that needs it.
Image by Lily-Rose Beardshaw
SKIM YOUR PROFITS
Comic makers can donate some of their proceeds to organisations that need the support (and include information about them in the publication, to help spread the word).
In fact, of course, anyone who sells anything can advertise that they’ll donate a percentage of the takings to a worthy cause.
Image by Pete Renshaw
CRAFT YOUR PROTEST
Sarah Corbett found traditional methods of protest to be aggressive, loud and unkind – so she embraced Craftivism, a gentler form of protest.
Her project to give embroidered handkerchiefs to the Marks and Spencers board worked: it brought about a change in policy that saw a higher-than Living Wage being introduced for the department stores’ workers.
Craftivism encourages contemplation, community and critical thinking — and anyone can do it.
Image by Joan Reilly
HANG UP A WELCOME SIGN
If you own a business or work somewhere public, display a sign to make it clear that everyone is welcome.
In Portland, Oregon, USA, the Independent Publishing Resource Center made signs that read: We welcome ALL races,ALL religions, ALL countries of origin, ALL sexual orientations, ALL genders. We stand with you. You are safe here.
If you’re a maker, you can produce something similar — and make them available to others. Offer them via social media, using your local hashtag, Facebook page or message board.
Image by Sally-Anne Hickman
CRANK UP THE SINGER
If you’re handy with a sewing machine, making your own clothes means that you can opt out of the multinational fashion business, which often exploits workers, ships garments half way round the world, and dictates how women should look.
Fashion-loving blogger Ivy Arch set herself a challenge to stay away from clothes shops for a year, in 2013, and never went back. As a result, she’s now got one of the most personal and eclectic wardrobes you’ve ever seen.
Image by Jacqueline Nicholls
MAKE PICTURES
If you’re an artist, charities and campaigning organisations may value your skills over your money.
Could you donate a logo, an illustration or a comic strip to their marketing department, to help them get their point across? If you’re a photographer, could you offer to document their work?
Image by James Wilkinson
SHOUT TO THE STREET
Use your window as a political billboard.
Share your beliefs with the postman, visitors, and passers-by.
Many organisations, charities and causes offer posters that you can request by mail or print out directly from their websites.
Image by Joanna Neary
GET CREATIVE
Art speaks loudly. Painting a picture, making a movie, creating a song, a comic or a performance is a very direct way to the heart, and thence the minds, of society.
Image by Soizick Jaffre
KICK IT OLD-SCHOOL
Got access to a photocopier or printer? Make a zine, then hand it out at a gig or political meeting. Whee, it’s just like the 80s all over again.
Image by Rachael House
MEME IT UP
If something strikes you as politically outrageous, world-changing or important to know, ain’t nothing like a meme to get it out there.
Visit a site like memegenerator.net, stick it on Twitter or Facebook and bob’s your uncle.
Image by Henri Tervapuro
BE PLAYFUL
People love online games and quizzes, so they’re a great way to get a political message across, or to educate people about the detail of a complex issue. If you’re a coder, you could make games for the general good.
Image by Maria Björklund
WRITE SONGS
The catchier the tune, the more likely it is to spread.
So, what if you wrote a hummable tune that listed all the lies politicians had told, like Chequeado did in Argentina? Or an anthem that got people up and protesting?
If music is your superpower, use it.
Image by Maël Estevez
All artwork on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
SKIM YOUR PROFITS
Comic makers can donate some of their proceeds to organisations that need the support (and include information about them in the publication, to help spread the word).
In fact, of course, anyone who sells anything can advertise that they’ll donate a percentage of the takings to a worthy cause.
Image by Pete Renshaw
BEAR WITNESS
The work of comic artists like Olivier Kugler and Kate Evans show us that documentary or reportage drawing can be a powerful tool.
As comic artists we might feel that we don’t have much to offer when faced with gross injustices, poverty, or warfare. But we can tell stories, and in a very immediate way.
A way that can change minds, soften hearts, even alter the political discourse.
Image by Sousa Machado Arts
RAISE FUNDS
Now more than ever, charities and services need money.
Fundraising needn’t be dreary: just find a way of making some money from what you enjoy, whether that’s running a craft fair, selling plant cuttings or drawing pictures.
Image by Steve Reynolds
REPRESENT EVERYONE
If you’re an artist who includes characters in their work (from cartoonist to scriptwriter to designer), make sure that you depict all kinds of people.
By showing characters who are disabled, non-heteronormative, from religious or ethnic minority backgrounds and so on, you can play a huge part in the public’s perception that all types of people as unremarkable or sympathetic.
Image by Kripa Joshi
Draw The Line 