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Jennifer Casia

Professor Morgan

English 1302

Persuasive Essay: Why People should be more involved in Art Activism

It has been clear what the importance of art activism has been and will continue to be. It can

be seen today that the implementation of art activism has increased as more people take part in

different social and political movements. Not only are more people becoming aware of the

significance of art activism and the impact that it has on society, but also more forms of art are

being included. However, not everyone knows the importance of art activism, which is why they

dont take part in it, or they just dont feel like art activism is effective. The truth is that people

should be involved in art activism because its not only good for society, but also because they

can voice their opinion through the different art forms.

Most people believe that voicing their opinion wont make a different in social or political

issues which is why they tend to stay away from joining social movements. But most people just

dont realize the real importance of taking part of social movements and even taking part of art

activism. People fail to see what they could contribute to society, which is why artists and

intellectuals from all around the world have been using their work to push people to realize that

they are part of something greater(Sherwin). Recognized artists have also helped people realize

that they dont have to be well known by society in order to create an art piece that could have a

great impact on society. If people could only understand that creating a poster with a simple

message has the power to influence and change peoples point of views on social issues, then

more people would be willing to take part of art activism.

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People also fail to realize how effective art activism is because they also dont know its

significance and because they may also fear that people will not agree with their views. Art

activism seeks to make a change and more people need to understand that Art activism

constitutes a kind of vigorous campaigning that brings to light issues of human rights and

freedom(Sethi). If more people could understand that, then they would be more willing to take

part by creating different art forms that would help make a change. But most people would rather

stay quiet and not take part of social movements because of fear, as it is addressed by artist Brian

Sherwin, Art that may have helped to spur change is hidden away out of fear(Sherwin). People

need to understand that not everyone will have the same social and political views, but they are

still afraid to create art because their art will not reflect what others believe. People should

realize that every type of art has the power to create a response and therefore they should take

part of art activism and leave their fear behind.

It seems that people fail to realize the influence that art activism has on other and the

benefits that it has not only for them, but also for the rest of society. There are many aft forms

that people could use and artistic activism in the realms of poetry, painting, photography, film

and theater give a voice to the silent victims, which allows people to realize that they are capable

of doing something for society that serves as a benefit (Sherwin). Another benefit of being part

of art activism is the fact that Art, unlike the mainstream media that simply covers human

struggle, allows its participants to slowly reflect on that struggle (Sethi). This enables people to

think about the issues that are going on and think about some ways that they could help. Being

part of art activism has benefits that people dont really think about, but if people could pay more

attention to creating art, then they would be able to see the real benefits of art activism.
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Overall, being part of art activism does not only involve people creating art in different forms

that will send a message to people. Being part of art activism allows people to see the real

significance of art and the effect that it has on society, but also the influence that it can have on

people who do not participate in social or political movements. These are some of the reasons

why more people should be more involved and take part in art activism. It is time for everyone to

start to get involved in some type of way in art activism and help make a change for the well of

society.
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Works Cited

1. Sherwin, Brian. "Some Thoughts About Art Activism and Fear". The Art Edge. 18 Dec 2014.

Web. 20 Feb. 2017.

2. Sethi, Naina. "The Importance Of Art As Activism". Neon Tommy. 19 June 2012. Web. 20

Feb. 2017