As mentioned in the introduction, there is a need of specifying background information and defining the major concepts to properly undertake the rest of the research and apply some guidelines in terms of content to address the incoming data. In sequence, the concepts that will be covered are: political participation, non-institutionalised political participation, youth in non-institutionalised forms of political participation, and the concept of artistic activism.
Political Participation
Political participation is a broad concept that is complex to properly frame and define. Scholars still argue about its aspects but there is an agreement regarding its hardcore aspects which found settlement in contemporary definitions (Weiss, 2020). These three aspects, which will account for our structure of relevance are the followings: the actions that fall within the theoretical framework of political participation (i) must be taken by private citizens, (ii) voluntarily, and (iii) needs to concern governments, politics, organizations, or the state (van Deth, 2014).
Moreover, political participation can be formal or informal, institutionalised or not, online or in real life, as well as legal or illegal. In this research, the component of political participation we will focus on is the non-institutionalised one, which happens outside of any legal, judicial, or regulatory framework, as artistic activism is part of it. The spectrum of political participation is large and indeed too broad to be fully discussed in this thesis (Wray-Lake, 2019).
Therefore, a particular characteristic of political participation to which this work will take heed is the notion of institutionalised and non-institutionalised political participation. Institutionalised political participation defines the actions that fall under the framework of laws, regulations, and procedures of politics such as party membership and voting. On the other hand, non-institutionalised forms of political participation are the actions that happen outside of the institutional framework such as protests, boycotts, petitions, and awareness campaigns (Norris, 2004). Both notions will be elaborated thereafter, being particularly relevant as our target population is the youth generation which occupies a significant presence in the non-institutionalised landscape of political participation.
As a matter of fact, it appears that youth political participation relies a lot on the clear distinction between institutionalised and non-institutionalised forms of political participation to preserve its legitimate presence in the landscape of political participation, although it is not popularly acknowledged.
Non-institutionalized Forms of Political Participation
As mentioned above, non-institutionalised forms of political participation are the actions that complies with the three hardcore components of political participation which are: actions (i) taken by private citizens, (ii) taken voluntarily, and (iii) conducted against governments, politics, organizations, or the state; and in any case, which take place outside any legal, judicial, and regulatory bodies (Slavina, 2021)
This type of engagement is known to be more inclusive than traditional forms of political participation as it gives a platform to disadvantaged groups and generally does not exclude any individual. By opposition, the institutionalised forms such as the vote for instance require holding the nationality of the country in which a person wants to vote in. It involves a sort of social and economic privilege. In contrast, for example protest, as well as boycott, allows anyone to join as it is an individual initiative. Nonetheless, non-institutional forms of political participation cannot be considered fully inclusive as some studies show that despite its benefit to gender inequality, minority representation, and the age gap, non-institutionalised forms of political participation increase inequalities based on levels of education (Marien, 2010).
Youth in Non-Institutional Forms of Political Participation
Even though the attitudes of young populations toward political participation do not require a different definition, it is essential to look at the different forms of political participation they rely on. According to some studies, there is a significant disengagement in youth political participation, with less than fifty percent of the European population between fifteen and twenty-nine years voting in elections at both national and European levels for example (Deželan, 2023). It is explained by the fact that they are not particularly present in the traditional means of political participation to which these studies restrict their definition of political participation, such as voting or being engaged in a political party (Zhang, 2022). Further studies showed that the issue with youth political participation is rather a question of definition and framework than general neglect. Indeed, young adults consider narrower definitions of political participation than adults or researchers, by excluding non-institutionalised forms from their definitions as it may seem too broad for them.For instance, they will not qualify many of their actions as political, whereas it satisfies the three hardcore aspects of political participation. There are therefore unconsciously taking political actions without calling it as such (Weiss, 2020). Consciously or not, young populations participate significantly more in non-institutionalised forms of political participation than in conventional ones, which then suggests an inaccurate absence of young adults in political participation (Zhang, 2022; European Union & Council of Europe, 2021).
Artistic Activism
- The Concept of Artistic Activism
Artistic activism, which is the major concept of this research, represents the intersectional notion that brings art and activism together to achieve better use of both activities. It legitimises the use of both concepts as a specific form of political engagement (Weij, 2022). Activism itself is the voluntary intention to bring about change, social or political, by an individual or a group (Brenman, 2014). Traditionally, activism refers to political participation against powerful organisations as governments or elites (Clark, 1998). Hence, activism on its own refers to political participation in its broader terms, but artistic activism brings more specific entailments and definitions, as demonstrated afterward.
Art aims at moving people emotionally, the goal is to leave on people minds an impact and some affect. On the other side, the objective of activism is to create social change and to disrupt the rooted structure of societal issues. It seeks to create an effect. The two concepts put together result in a complementary purpose, bringing to each of the components what it lacks (Duncombe, 2022; Rodriguez-Labajos, 2022).
Indeed, effect without affect and vice versa cannot be enough to initiate an action, a position statement, or a commitment; however, when they are put together, it creates the power to make a change in people’s perspectives.
Artistic activism imposes itself as a successful and interesting form of political participation as it goes beyond the standard frameworks of both art and activism, as two different spheres, and it has an unlimited presence considering that it has very thin boundaries to exist legitimately (Duncombe, 2022).
The concept of artistic activism has little visibility when discussing non-institutional forms of political participation, and then explain the significance of addressing it in this research, in order to assess its efficiency and popularity among youth populations. Indeed, it is accessible to everyone by not being too politic or artistic. It also reaches broader audiences and does not restrict its participants. It also does not require specific knowledge to be understood, it leaves space for interpretation. It takes place in unfamiliar places and through unusual forms, completely out of the traditional categorisation of both art and activism which strictly sticks to their boundaries. Moreover, as it is not considered as politics, it can be spread out without being bound by authorities.
- Artistic Activism as a non-institutional form of Political Participation
Hence, within the setting of non-institutionalised political participation, the focus will be made artistic activism, which is one specific type of non-institutionalised political participation. Within its sub-forms identified by a well-known author, Slavina, artistic activism does not exclusively belong to one category but can rather be exploited equally by individuals, communities, or within large organisations. Since the intent is to discuss the concepts of artistic expression and political engagement together, the theoretical support of this will be the conceptual framework of artistic activism, used as a reference for understanding.
- Artistic Activism for Minorities
Aligned with non-institutionalised forms of political participation, artistic activism gives a platform to marginalised groups which are frequently side-lined from politics, law, and educational milieus because of economic status, ethnicity, or gender (Ellerman, 2020). Individually, arts and activism can be paternalistic towards discriminated groups by standing as experts who will speak up for these groups.Artistic activism works the other way around. It allows the more vulnerable groups to stand for themselves and spread their messages from their perspective. It can act as an empowering mechanism for voiceless groups (Wiley, 2021). Additionally, while story-telling for instance might be an efficient way to raise awareness on certain issues, one cannot feel a tangible effect on something they cannot see nor understand. In this sense, artistic activism can materialise this story-telling in a way that moves emotionally its audience and cause a genuine impact (Ellermann, 2020).
- The Scale of Artistic Activism
Artistic activism needs to be thought in the long term as it aims to change cultural values and beliefs, which are necessary for efficient social change. Artistic activism, by combining affect and effect, has the power to truly change people’s beliefs and behaviors and thus generate a cultural change for successful structural transformation (Duncombe, 2018).
- Artistic Activism through Social Media
It is well suited for contemporary times and young generations as it is embedded in the digital era, especially through social media (Sanz, 2021; Daniel, 2015). Take for example the impact social media had on events such as #MeToo, #JeSuisCharlie, #BringBackOurGirls, or #ICantBreathe. Through artistic activism on social media, the impact reached a substantial audience giving rise to a new form of civic engagement in response to the international crisis (Daniel, 2015). Although artistic activism finds a relevant space on social media, studies showed that on certain social media, Twitter for instance, the artistic activist work of people will hit its audience in terms of raising awareness on the chosen topic but the purely artistic component of the work will not specifically be acknowledged (Weij, 2022). A famous example is Banksy whose art is recognised worldwide but ironically appreciated by the population which is criticised through its artwork such as elites and wealthy people in general, as he stands against systemic inequalities and capitalism (Hamade, 2022). Thus, artistic activism on social media is more beneficial to the social message it intents to share rather than the quality of the art it represents.
However, this conclusion has its limitations since it only takes into consideration the social media Twitter. Other testimonies assert that their activist art gained worldwide visibility and recognition through social media like Instagram, especially around the movement Black Lives Matter, as their art has been used to illustrate newspaper articles, protest posters, or merchandising. (Talukder, 2020). For example, pictures of mural frescos in tribute to George Floyd were largely spread on social media, giving large visibility to the artists (Helen, 2020).
- Artistic Activism as a Specific Pattern of Political Participation
Studies findings indicate that although youth populations exhibit greater involvement in non-institutional political participation, there is currently no substantial evidence linking youth populations to artistic activism. As a consequence thereof, the focus of this elaboration stands around the gaps existing in this theoretical framework concerning the recognition and comprehension of artistic activism within the youth population in Maastricht, particularly Generation Z.