Interpreting mobilization dynamics through art: A look at the DREAMers Movement

Abstract

Most research on art and social movements focuses on the representational aspect of art, leaving untouched how artwork informs audiences and actors on the mobilization dynamics permeating the field of action. In this article the authors contend that the analysis of art in social movements should pursue the ways in which collective actors place art as part of their interpretative lens to act upon changing social conditions. The article’s analysis of art around the DREAMers Movement suggests that artwork allows for movement actors to change the limits of their cultural context and affect the repertoires of articulations conceived within that context. This analysis moves beyond the notions of art as representation and presents art as a field to challenge the forms and dynamics of mobilization.

How the ‘Lejabys’ Came into Being: Artists and Workers in Struggle. A Spatio-Temporal Odyssey between ‘Mobilising’ and ‘Organising’

“…Furthermore, art and creativity are part of the traditional protest repertoire (Edelman, 1995), fostering individual and collective awareness of an issue, or stirring emotions in supporters (Eyerman & Jamison, 1998). The relationship between art and protest can be seen in two dimensions, objective and subjective (Vélez-Vélez & Villarrubia-Mendoza, 2018): objective, in the sense that art can be used by the actors to produce an image, galvanise a group, improve solidarity, raise public awareness and thus facilitate social change or the 'success' of the movement (subjective), in the sense that art can also contribute to building spaces of resistance in which individuals engage their community, produce a voice and are empowered as social actors. Mathieu (2021) structures the art & protest field around four subsets, two of which are central here.…”

Prácticas Artísticas Colectivas y sus Potenciales Socio-Políticos

“…La innegable influencia de los procesos de globalización ha permitido que una creciente y diferenciada cantidad de ciudadanxs puedan tener un relativo acceso y apropiación de espacios públicos de diversa índole, sumado al uso de nuevas tecnologías en comunicación e información. Con múltiples reverberaciones a distintos niveles de la sociedad, las motivaciones y demandas de sus miembros se fortalecen, al igual que los métodos de luchas contestatarias y de resistencia (Campbell y Martin, 2006;Carmo, 2019;Vélez-Vélez y Villarrubia-Mendoza, 2019). El libre acceso a múltiples recursos ha animado, diversificado y radicalizado los conflictos culturales, entendidos como disputas por los sentidos en una sociedad.…”