This article was first published by the Center for Artistic Activism
The past decade has witnessed a surge in “artistic activism”…whether it actually works is however still a matter of faith more than fact.
What has not been done is an evidence-based, empirical comparative study of the variable impact of creative versus more conventional forms of activism on a public audience in terms of ideas, ideals and actions. Until now.
In May of 2018 we mounted activist interventions in Copenhagen, Denmark. Each day we paired a conventional activist intervention — public speaking, petitioning, flyering — with a creative way of accomplishing the same task, in a classic A/B experimental model. The results were revealing.
Here is a video that shows what we did and how people reacted to it. Watch and enjoy.