Overview

What is the purpose of art in a world on fire? In this exhilarating and deeply inspiring work, Amber Massie-Blomfield considers the work of artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers—such as Gran Fury, Billie Holiday, Alexis Wright, Claude Cahun, Rick Lowe, and Joseph Beuys—alongside collectives, communities, and organizations that have used protest sites as their canvas and spearheaded political movements. From writer Ken Saro Wiwa combatting oil pollution in Nigeria and Susan Sontag directing Waiting for Godot in besieged Sarajevo to the women stitching subversive patchworks in Pinochet’s Chile and the artist-activists who blocked the building of a new airport in France, with stories drawn from environmentalism, feminism, anti-fascism, and other movements, Acts of Resistance brings together remarkable acts of creativity that have shifted history on its axis.

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9781324078753

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""A fascinating, passionate, and political case for art’s world-changing power, by a fizzingly good writer."" -- Robert Macfarlane, best-selling author of Underland ""A rich and broad overview of socially purposeful art. Everyone interested in social change should read it."" -- Brian Eno, musician

""Delving into political art across genres, places, and periods… Massie-Blomfield maintains that the sense of hope inherent in producing resistance art is necessary for continued human existence."" -- Kirkus Reviews ""A fascinating, passionate, and political case for art’s world-changing power, by a fizzingly good writer."" -- Robert Macfarlane, best-selling author of Underland ""A rich and broad overview of socially purposeful art. Everyone interested in social change should read it."" -- Brian Eno, musician ""Riveting [and] galvanizing… A powerful rejoinder to the notion of art for art’s sake."" -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

""A fascinating, passionate, and political case for art’s world-changing power, by a fizzingly good writer."" -- Robert Macfarlane, best-selling author of Underland ""A rich and broad overview of socially purposeful art. Everyone interested in social change should read it."" -- Brian Eno, musician ""Riveting [and] galvanizing… A powerful rejoinder to the notion of art for art’s sake."" -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Author Information

Amber Massie-Blomfield is a writer and arts professional. She was previously executive director of renowned theater company Complicité, where she led the first stage adaptation of Olga Tokarczuk’s Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead. Her writing has been published in the Guardian and Times Literary Supplement, among other publications.

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