Bertholt Brecht said art could be a hammer with which to shape reality. This participatory workshop will focus on the production of visual art in the context of social movements. The facilitators are community organizers as well as artists, who have collaborated in various ways with the San Francisco Print Collective. The workshop will focus on the history of guerilla art and political posters, from OSPAAL to the Black Panthers and current directions in street-level propaganda, and on different tactics for the transformation of public space. Presenters will develop an interactive format with participants that weaves cultural work into learning.

Questions we wish to address in this workshop: What does it mean to be an artist living in and working with oppressed communities struggling for change? What are different ways in which artists relate to community organizing and to social movement actors? How can posters and other interventions in public space contribute to the process of developing consciousness? What are some critical ways in which artists help shape “the moment” of social presence and protest? How do the traditions and histories of cultural creation among communities of color and other oppressed groups lead us to new directions in community propaganda? How do we view cultural creation within a larger strategic vision for change? Within our individual experiences, what have we been able to accomplish, and what have been the limitations?

This workshop is proposed in English, but may be held in English and Spanish, depending on participants.
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Bertholt Brecht dijo que el arte podía ser un martillo para formar la realidad. Este taller participative enfocará en la producción de arte visual dentro del contexto de movimientos sociales. Hemos propuesto un taller in ingles, pero podría ser en ingles y español, dependiendo en los participantes.