"From quilts to puppetry to nail art, seemingly non-threatening forms of creative expression are being used to deliver pointed, sometimes obscene, messages of resistance to the policies of President Donald Trump. And these creative protest strategies, which blend tactical frivolity and absurdity-see inflatable frogs -with serious messaging, stand in stark contrast to the increasing proliferation of A.I.-generated artwork created with basic prompts in a matter of seconds."
"These objects are made by hand, born of real human emotion, in response to the unprecedented events of Trump's second term, especially his campaign to deport undocumented immigrants. The latest enforcement action by ICE, Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis, has seen federal agents detain thousands of residents and kill two U.S. citizens. But the current moment of politically charged "craftivism" is also part of a longstanding tradition dating back to before the founding of the U.S. that has seen generations of activists embrace craft."
Protesters have adopted handcrafted projects—knit 'Melt the ICE' hats, origami rabbits, quilts, puppets and even nail art—to convey pointed resistance to ICE enforcement and deportation campaigns. Small community efforts, like a Minneapolis yarn shop's resistance knit-in raising funds for immigrant-support nonprofits, have gone viral, echoing the visual impact of the Pussyhat from 2017. Handmade creative protests combine absurdity and tactical frivolity with serious messaging, contrasting sharply with the rapid production of A.I.-generated images. The surge in craft activism responds to recent enforcement actions such as Operation Metro Surge, which detained thousands and resulted in two U.S. citizen deaths.
Read at Artnet News
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