Activism or Protest
Highlights
Fen-Ma Liuming Walks the Great Wall
Fen·Ma Liuming Walks the Great Wall is a performance in which Ma Liuming’s alter-ego casually walks and climbs the Great Wall of China, completely nude, expressing a critical stance against the rigid social structures and conventions symbolized by th
The Journey of Nishiyuu
In 2013, six Cree youth from Whapmagoostui walked 1,600 km to Ottawa as part of the Idle No More movement to support Chief Theresa Spence and Indigenous rights. Joined by others along the way, they were celebrated as symbols of Indigenous resilience and unity.
Politics of Walking: Grief, Solidarity, and Resistance
The recent protests in Serbia and Greece in part started as the expression of collected grief over, oddly for both, railway disasters. The resulting marches not only represented deep discontent with the actions of the respective governments, they were also expressions of solidarity and resistance.
+2 Walking to Greenham: Women’s Bodies in Motion Across Art and Activism
Beginning in 1981 with a march from Cardiff to Greenham by women, men and children, the camp became women-only the following year and remained so through its 19-year span. According to Barbara Harford and Sarah Hopkinson (1984), Greenham ‘became a place where ideas, fears, dreams, philosophies and skills came together to be worked through’, and initiated a series of actions of exceptional creative ingenuity and political efficacy.
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Walking as political resistance: From May 1968 to contemporary marches
Walking has long served as a potent form of political expression, transforming the simple act of moving through public spaces into a declaration of dissent, solidarity, and hope. From the revolutionary fervor of May 1968 in Paris to the contemporary global marches advocating for workers' rights and protesting state abuses, walking remains an enduring symbol of collective resistance against systemic injustices.
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The sonic barricades of Minsk
Pavel Niakhayeu created Political Soundwalks as an audio-essay to document what Minsk sounded like during the political protests of 2020-2021. His field recordings provide a starting point for a discussion on the multifaceted role of sound in claiming the urban and political space.
Consequences of a Gesture
*Consequences of a Gesture* (1993) by Daniel J. Martinez, with VinZula Kara, was a participatory parade through Chicago commemorating immigrant labor history. It combined performance, monument, and community engagement, turning streets into a living, historical stage.
Land Mark (Foot Prints)
Land Mark (Foot Prints) documents activist collaborations in Vieques, where altered shoe soles stamped protest slogans onto former military land. The photographs capture fragile, temporary marks of dissent that question land use, power, and reclamation through everyday actions.
Walking pieces
Walking to Save Some Sea – My 46000 Challenge
Walking to Save Some Sea documents Fran Crowe’s year-long response to ocean plastic pollution. Between 2006–07 she walked 200km of coastline, collecting 46,000 pieces of litter - one square mile’s worth—turning personal action into a call for collective responsibility.
Marching for Justice in the Fields
In 1966, farmworkers marched 300 miles from Delano to Sacramento to protest low wages, unsafe working conditions, and the denial of union rights. Their action drew national support, pressured growers and officials, and helped secure the first farmworker union contract.
Articles on WLC
Russian artists create secret exhibits to avoid arrest, as in Soviet times – The Washington Post
To display art that opposes the war in Ukraine, and avoid arrest, Russian artists have gone underground, creating a secret exhibit in a return to Soviet-era stealth. Source: Russian artists create secret exhibits to avoid arrest, as in Soviet times – The Washington Post
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Trevor Noah To Lead Self-Guided Interactive Tour Of Capitol Hill Insurrection
Satirical news television programme ‘The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’ is set to launch an interactive self-guided walking tour which aims to take guests on a journey through the events of the January 6, 2021 insurrection in Washington D.C. Source: Trevor Noah To Lead Self-Guided Interactive Tour Of Capitol Hill Insurrection
• Articles elsewhere
Fred Forest, Hygiene of Art: The City Invaded by Blank Space (1973)
This was a performance walking by Fred Forest in the streets of São Paulo, Brazil under the military dictatorship. The artist hired 15 professional sandwich board men to walk with him carrying blank signs. “The goal of this series of provocative actions undertaken under the cover of art was to create symbolic/utopian spaces of popular […]
Bani Abidi, Security Barriers A-Z (2009-19)
Bani Abidi, (1971-) in Karachi (PK), lives and works in Karachi and Delhi (IN) “26 Inkjet Prints, 29.7 x 42.0cm A design typology of security barriers found on the streets of Karachi (2009 – 2019). These barriers, which started making an entry into Karachi’s streets soon after the attack on the Twin Towers in NY […]
Ken Johnston, Our Walk to Freedom
” Walk to Freedom came about in late 2017 after I discovered the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee was planning remembrance ceremonies in April 2018 to mark the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination. I recognized the importance of this moment and I thought about how could I contribute to […]
Six Adult Educators Reflect On Walking
Jerry, walking through the Devil's Glen in Wicklow, introduces an edited collection from the walks he has been on with five adult educator colleagues over the year 2019-20. Sinead, Fergal, Bríd, Conor and Camilla all reflect, as they walk, on the si...
