Art has always been used as a means to share perspectives and to move people. It is communicative and it aims to impact the innermost feelings of people (Jangid, 2023). In recent years due to the advent of digital art, a specific wing of arts has gained visibility, particularly through social media. Artistic activism, also called artivism, is the concept that presents activist causes through artistic expression, combining art and activism to bring about social change (Funderburk, 2021). Although the concept might sound familiar to most people, its definition and implications deserve more attention and research to fully understand the idea beyond the notion of artistic activism as a valuable tool of political participation.
Artistic activism brings some societal relevance to its exercise as it allows people to go beyond the usual boundaries of arts and activism separately. Properly understood, it can enable people to understand both art and activism works from a new perspective. Moreover, artistic activism raises the question of whether the aestheticisation of political messages is ethically correct or if it constitutes a weakness to the core idea of activism (Universiteit van Amsterdam, 2021).
Artistic activism is the concept that brings together art and activism as an intersectional approach to the world and its issues, by deconstructing conventional definitions and boundaries of both arts and activism as separated notions which however have much to contribute when they are put together (Duncombe, 2022). The concept of artistic activism will be developed in broader terms right in the next chapter.
Within the framework of artistic activism, this study aims to take a deeper look at a specific target population that seems to be particularly involved with this means of political participation, the youth population which will be specified as Generation Z for the research (Wilcox, 2009; Ennis-O’Connor, 2021). The decision to focus on youth populations is a result of research showing that informal and non-institutionalised forms of political participation, such as artistic activism, consist of a special pattern of political participation among young adults, as elaborated more in-depth in the following chapters (Lyovochkin, 2021; Robert, 2017; Sloam, 2019; Nygård, 2016). Concretely, I will assess artistic activism as a tool for young artists in Maastricht to translate and spread their political convictions.
As small as Maastricht can be, it can be easily acknowledged that this is a city that is heated by its young population (Darroch, 2022). Student folklore is the core of living in the city which makes it an animated city to move in, as a student. In Maastricht, approximately 17% of the population consists of university students who are actively enrolled in academic programs. It is important to note that this figure does not include the younger population who are not currently pursuing higher education (Hooijen, 2019). No matter what you are fighting for, there is a place you can go to that will share your values, in line with your hobbies, your beliefs, or your culture. Through protests, exhibitions, events, workshops, jam sessions, and many other activities, the artist as well as the activist scene are ubiquitous in the landscape of the city and is particularly popular among the youth (Siegal, 2018; Costa, 2012).
Beyond the distinct presence of art and activism in the city I wish to assess the existence of an intersection between the two milieus via the exploration of the concept of artistic activism. This research aims to assess whether young artists in Maastricht translate their political convictions in their art, and if so, how it would influence their artistic expression. Furthermore, the accent should be made to understanding the level of effectiveness and popularity of artistic activism as a form of political participation outside traditional institutional structures, especially among the current generation.
Taking these predispositions into account, the following research question and sub-questions will provide guidelines for this work :
To what degree do artists from Generation Z in Maastricht utilise their artwork as a medium for expressing their political engagement?
Is Artistic Activism a specific form of political engagement that is commonly employed by Generation Z artists in Maastricht?
Do artists perceive Artistic Activism as an effective tool for creating change? What are their expectations regarding their audience?
What political themes and viewpoints are prevalent in the artwork of Generation Z artists in Maastricht?
For this purpose, the perspectives of five young artists in Maastricht and how they position themselves toward artistic activism will be analysed, through video interviews, photo galleries, and soundscapes showing personal and artistic insights. A qualitative research will be conducted which explains the choice of narrowing the scope to five participants, with different profiles, leading to different approaches and different artistic activities.
The purpose is to actually understand one’s position regarding artistic activism and its implication in this effort, through an in-depth analysis of understanding and usage of the intersectional activity that artistic activism accounts for.
To set the foundations of this research, I will first proceed with a literature review to set the background information that is necessary, together with a theoretical framework as to define the concepts that will be discussed and used. The broader concepts will be defined and then progressively narrowed to meet our specific point of focus.