activist art | cait +tiff

I think the best forms of activism are the most subversive ones. They require a little creativity an maybe a paintbrush. They’re the ones that happen overnight or under your feet, and when they get released, it roars louder than the tweet that got the ball rolling in the first place. And aren’t big wide walls just asking for it in the first place? So when I was in San Francisco this past spring, my partner really wanted to check out Clarion Alley in the Mission District. It’s a community in a city where the voice of increasing social inequality and the fight against gentrification and the whitewashing of neighbourhoods is really taking hold. Where better to smack some sense into your compadres than on their commute? I’m always so incredibly impressed by the people who can synthesize their feelings into beautiful acts of activism. And social media these days means that these messages can get spread far and wide. Just look at all of the responses to the tragedy of DACA just hours after its announcement.

What a week it’s been, right? The world is on it’s toes and the anxiety and anger are bubbling towards something. Good I hope. So I thought I’d share some snaps I took of Clarion Alley today. And I hope the dreamers, the creators and those most seriously affected by this week’s everything get a wall of their own.