In academic style, JJ Lefebvre depicts Lady Godiva’s public reveal as protest to her husband’s oppressive taxes. In a time where most of us are made to carry fiscal crises born by neoliberal greed and militancy, welcomed it is for those with privilege to understand our urgency and act in solidarity.
Emerging from London in 2003 as a response to US imperialism, CIRCA remains a horizontalist, direct action group who use the interdisciplinary art of clowning to peacefully disrupt anti-social rules and to shine a polychromatic light on difficult political truths. 🎭
Recently, CAP had the privilege to host Toronto-based Ukrainian music group, Daughters of Donbas. Their music-activism tour—“Songs of Stolen Children”—directly addresses the Russian war crimes of abducting young people from Ukraine and illegally relocating them into Russia. #PoliticalArt
The Lion and Sun depicted in 'Kitâb al-Mawâlid' ('The Book of Nativities') by Abu Ma'shar (Albumasar).
Before it was claimed as an institutional symbol, Iran’s ‘Sun Lion’ was depicted as a motif in the Book of Nativities by Persian astrologer, Albumasar. The Sun Lion's evolution through time and influence shows that no one has immutable authority over meaning; definitions can be democratic.
At 1998 Winter Olympics, French figure skater, Surya Bonaly, executed the banned single-blade backflip, finishing by bowing to the audience before the judges. Both acts of artistic rebellion spoke to Bonaly’s experiences with the skating establishment’s ageism, racism, & normativity. #PoliticalArt
Happy V-Day from CAP!
Rooted in 1970s anti-normativity, punk artists have long overlapped with eco-liberation movements. Musicians like #EarthCrisis remind us that subjective and political interests are not exclusive to our own species. Human or not, we must love the whole lot. 💚
#PoliticalArt
What does it mean to story-tell with animals? Artist-activist Sam Lee explores a legacy of bardism and ecological listening by singing with #nightingales, endangered in the UK. Lee's interactions are always imbued with some magic, much virtuosity, and a total commitment to connection. #PoliticalArt
This week, CAP is spotlighting @pattiegonia.bsky.social! Nature has often been weaponised against or gate-kept from transqueer folks, but this drag artist is challenging that. With her body as the queer canvass, Gonia paints herself with recycled materials and eco-social activism. #PoliticalArt
As a way to combat the dehumanisation buttressing hostile #architecture, Australian architect Sean Godsell’s creations explore urban interventions which make shelter more accessible to people without housing whilst encouraging us to protract who we make kin and neighbour. #politicalart
“Silent Testimony” by Belfast-born artist Colin Davidson is a collection of portraits illustrating stories of loss (and their faces) during the Troubles of Northern Ireland. Like the last #PoliticalArt spotlight, these individuals ask of us reflections on the responsibilities of our own identities.
Happy New Year from CAP! With resolutions come considerations of rebirth and identity—who we are and who we want to be, as self and as community. To aid in these considerations is St Andrews’ Wardlaw Museum’s exhibit on #Scottish identity. Come reflect with us! #PoliticalArt
For all in and around St Andrews, we hope that you will join us! 💛💙
cap.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/events-2/
Dec 25th marks the birth of Jesus, a Jewish revolutionary who taught amity and decried retributive politics. In #PalestineMuseumScotland, one work swaddles Christ's anti-oppression activism around modern anti-imperialist theory (‘A Palestinian Theology of Liberation’, Ateek). #PoliticalArtSpotlight
“Garden Futures” at @vadundee.bsky.social troubled its temporality. A gardener is future-tense: “Where/when will my plants thrive?” But a garden itself is a cultivation of past lessons—some freeing, some unjust. To speculate a garden’s future, we must first root its past. #PoliticalArtistSpotlight
Upon witnessing a legion of Confederate army statues in Richmond, VA, Kehinde Wiley responded with a Black-affirming statue of his own. With many Richmond-based Dixie symbols now deconstructed, Wiley’s abides as a bronze reminder of how public symbols reflect our values.
#PoliticalArtSpotlight
Reminding us that art includes non-fiction composition is ‘The Psychic Lives of Statues’, an Odyssean read which skilfully stories the colonial politics of moulded memorials. This text by @rahulraothariel.bsky.social will segue into next week’s #PoliticalArtSpotlight, so stay tuned!
Our #PoliticalArtSpotlight would like to introduce Ren Loren Britton, a trans*disciplinary artist-designer who reverberates with trans*feminism, technosciences, radical pedagogy and disability justice. Check out Ren’s website to join their adventures, such as ‘Coalition Constellation’!
This week's #PoliticalArtSpotlight honours the work of the Barbadian-Scottish artist, Alberta Whittle. Despite vastness of matter and discipline, Whittle's art returns itself (and us) to the philosophy of self-compassion and community health as central correctives to anti-blackness.
Each week, CAP will offer a #PoliticalArtSpotlight where we will share different multimedia artists critically exploring sociocultural issues and agencies. This week, we are thrilled to feature “Window to Freedom” at the International Art Biennial of Antioquia and Medellín! Read more below:
The Centre for Art and Politics at the University of St Andrews is thrilled to launch our Bluesky page. We invite you to follow us to keep up to date with art-related news, upcoming events, and opportunities for involvement! 🎨✊