…of the day: The voices of artists

Ever since the “war on terror” was declared by the U.S. after September 11th, I’ve been trying to find artwork and music and plays that have political slants to them.  Artists have always been our visionaries.  They’re the ones who can express themselves without worrying about what the boss has to say about it.  It’s that freedom that we all long for that artists have (and maybe that’s why they’re secretly envied by non-artists…). 

So how are today’s artists expressing themselves in regards to current political events?  I’m not sure because I haven’t been able to find a central location for this type of theme.  One of my goals for the next few years is to document how artists are documenting current events (yep, that will be on the 101 in 1001 list!).  However, I saw a tweet about this festival and I think it’s extremely important to share it and I’m making plans to attend.

http://www.humanrightsartfestival.com/

It is being organized by Amnesty International.  I think they’re a decent organization but I do have some issues with them.  Regardless, this is what I’ve been looking for all along and I’m thrilled that it exists!  I hope it’s HUGE because these artists deserve to be seen and heard.  The festival encompasses artwork, music, theatre, spoken word, films and more.  Oh, and for all the drummers out there, there will be a drum circle!!  Bring your drums!

I asked the festival organizers for a poster so that I could do some advertising for them.  If you want to hang it up somewhere, just click on the image below and you’ll get a full-size copy.

Related posts:

1. Books of 2009: Artists