Dedicated to clever and innovative trends of art and design in activism.

Scott Wayne Indiana’s public art project for the blind, Braille Graffiti, “is an attempt to create a unique moment for a blind person who might happen across one of these bits of braille graffiti.” The project was inspired by an interview with a blind person who chose to remain anonymous. 5 phrases were printed and scattered about the streets of Portland, Oregon, delivering messages like “You don’t have to be blind to see that the writing is on the wall” and “Tiny bubbles that randomly rose from the paper in this arrangement.”

Via Core77

Discuss (0)

Brian Crumley is an NYC-based jewelery designer whose latest collection “was inspired by the futility of the peace sign,” he explains, adding “it is also a reaction to the glamorization and ubiquity of guns, knives, and the such in our culture.” The pieces are made of sterling with gunmetal plating, and are an effort at reclaiming the symbolism behind such images.

“I wanted to render these symbols of aggression impotent and reclaim them as new symbols of peace,” Crumley says. “The drop of red is the last bit of blood being squeezed out as the gun is transformed.” You can find his work over at Crumley New York.

Discuss (0)

The Shahneshin Foundation is based in Switzerland, and is running a poster contest built around “shrinkage.” The concept is a bit vague, but I think it is an effort to combat overlapping injustices and social issues in one fell swoop:

“Shrinkage, so-to-say the Second Renaissance, calls upon community to re-think and reassess the daily thoughts, attitudes and decisions, which go beyond the social responsibility, sustainability, green movement, and so-forth.”

Entries are due by November 19th, 2007, and require a 30 Euro (20 for students) entrance fee. For more information, visit the Shahneshin Foundation website.

Discuss (0)

You can find the Beehive Collective in Machias, Maine, creating “collaborative, anti-copyright images that can be used as educational and organizing tools.”  They’ve formed an amazing grassroots effort that extends from their local efforts revitalizing the Machias Valley Grange Hall to their international educational graphics campaigns.

They’ve mobilized against the Free Trade Area of the Americas, with what might be their most widely seen poster:

Recently, they provided the BioJustice Conference (held in Boston at the start of May) with a promo:

Their effort and dedication is as amazing as their attention to detail and creative resistance.  Thanks, Rachel, for the suggestion!

Discuss (0)

Rogue Wave is about to drop their new album, and not only does it sound great, but, according to Zach Rogue, “the entire record is about the internal joy that we’ve been feeling at being able to overcome so much in the last year and then looking around at the country we love, which is disintegrating before our eyes…” Lake Michigan is the name of their first single from the record, and it addresses “environmental destruction and the greed that perpetuates our inability to make any kind of progress.”

 You can pre-order the album, and get a free 7″, which I can bet will be well worth it.

Discuss (0)