Dedicated to critical cultural production at the intersection of art and activism.

We cover artists from around the globe whose work explores and realizes social change. Our goal is to provide a narrative about these activist efforts while simultaneously participating in them. Maintained by The Groundswell Collective since 2007.

In Review: Cultural Elites and their Paychecks, Interference 2010, DIYing the Work Projects Administration, The Arts Politic Contemplates Bias

James David Morgan wrote this post at 11:31 am on April 27th, 2010.

Adam Friedman's "No Vestige of a Beginning, No Prospect of and End"
Adam Friedman’s “No Vestige of a Beginning, No Prospect of and End” (2010)

Big Shots | Take a look at the rich, white men at the top rung of the NYC cultural ladder. [NYTimes]

DIY WPA | The Work Projects Administration is experiencing a revival, at the hands of public artists and community organizers. [WPA]

Reason to Interfere | Invitations are being solicited for work combining art, politics, and protest, for Interference 2010. [Artsadmin]

Preference & Prejudice | Tackle the issue of bias where art and politics  meet. [The Arts Politic]

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In Review: Designing for Resilience, Red Sun Press, and Bumpkin Island Art Encampment

James David Morgan wrote this post at 11:15 am on April 6th, 2010.

The economic function of public art is to increase the value of private property.
Jacob Chamberlain deliberates on public art and integrity at Provisions Library

Built to Thrive | We often wonder how and why some terrible ideas manage to stick and survive.  Shareable is hosting a forum to get at how good ideas can do the same. [Shareable]

Speaking of Thriving | Red Sun Press, our local movement print shop, did a short video protesting the Chamber of Commerce. [Red Sun Press]

Urban Bumpkins | The Berwick Research Institute has put out a call for a summertime art encampment, in which homesteaders will create public art installations on the Boston Harbor Islands. [Bumpkin Island Art Encampment]

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In Review: Trade School, Artists’ Lottery Syndicate, and Meaningful Street Art

James David Morgan wrote this post at 1:43 pm on April 2nd, 2010.
Jenny Holzer in Rome 1998
Jenny Holzer in Rome, 1998

Get Lucky | Since capital is in crisis, UK-based artists have joined forces, in hopes of hitting the big one. [Artists' Lottery Syndicate]

Repeat Offenders | A favorite project around here, Trade School, (previously) finished in February, but the organizers are hoping for a comeback, and they need the funds to re-open in September. [Donate to Trade School]

Go Practice | Scientists now say that street art “elicits meaningful discussion.” [UPI]

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Trade School Open for Registration

Chris Kennedy wrote this post at 12:47 pm on January 26th, 2010.


Take a class every night with a range of specialized teachers in exchange for basic items and services. Secure a spot in a Trade School class by meeting one of the teacher’s barter needs.
By Day: A Shop
Drop in to barter with artists, designers, and craftspeople on a range of products and services. Peruse the trading board for things you want, and leave a contact card for things you have to offer. Skilled staff will help you make connections.
By Night: A School
Take a class with a range of specialized teachers in exchange for basic items and services. Secure a spot in a Trade School class by meeting one of the teacher’s barter needs. For example, grant writer Caroline Woolard is looking for local produce from the farmers market. Agree to bring her a dozen crisp apples, and you’re in!
By Jove: A Great Idea
Trade School was conceived by OurGoods.org to encourage artists and designers to trade with one another. Grand Opening brings this concept to everyone with its convenient storefront location, media attention, and easy to use interactive website. Together they do away with the dollar and get the things people need to the people that want them without the restrictions of currency. Let the exchange begin!
Visit Trade School at 139 Norfolk in the Lower East Side of New York City from January 25th to March 1st. Register HERE.

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Paths Through Utopias – Video Editor Urgently Needed

James David Morgan wrote this post at 4:38 pm on January 4th, 2010.

Paths Through Utopias still

Our friends at the Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination need your video skills.  Their forthcoming book/film, Paths Through Utopias, will be a brilliant speculative fiction, a look at the crisis folklores of tomorrow through the lens of today’s post-crash resistant spaces:

Whilst the book is a piece of travel writing about the experience the film is a documentary fiction in the form of a post crash road movie, shot in the places visited but set in the future. The book and the film are seen as a dialogue between present and future, fact and imagination.

Unfortunately, the Lab of ii’s film editor has fallen ill – too seriously ill to finish the project, and they’re in need of a new person to fill that role.  If you have the experience, especially if you have worked with feature-length films, know Final Cut Pro, are open to experimental and collective working environments, and share in the film’s vision, you might just be perfect for the job!

There’s a modest sum of money attached, £2000, to carry you through the July 2010 deadline.  If you’re not busy and are interested, drop us a line before the end of January and we’ll put you in touch with the right folks.

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