Article: Art For Social Change
Art For Social Change
In times of crisis, we have long turned to the arts to educate, inspire and inform. During times of unrest and uncertainty, art becomes more than it's decorative value - it is a tool to empower us, to heal and to save lives.
Amplifier.org is “a nonprofit design lab that builds art and media experiments to amplify the most important movements of our times with visual campaigns like We The People, which flooded the streets for the Women’s March and 2017 Presidential Inauguration protests.
Amplifier's founder Aaron Huey says "Art has the power to wake people up and serve as a catalyst for real change. It is a megaphone for important but unheard voices that need amplifying. It is a bridge that can unite movements with shared values in ways other mediums cannot. Art gives us symbols to gather around, builds community, and helps us feel like we are not alone. But for all the tools art can be in this fight, for Amplifier it is a compass. It points to the future we want to live in, and that we want our children to live in."
Art also serves as a permanent visual record of pertinent issues of an era such as the AIDS epidemic "Silence = Death" posters, or those calling for peace during the Vietnam War.
Unsurprisingly, the Covid pandemic has been a catalyst for a new wave of educational artwork, to keep us up to date with social guidelines, provide mental health support, and to build a sense of community at times when we are unable to be together physically.
During 2020 Amplifier.org and the United Nations called for artists to submit works centred around the pandemic and mental health awareness, these works have been made available for free download for the public to use and share to spread awareness and show support in their community.
