creating a space for an open dialogue that can start a conversation among people and promote real change for a cause.
This humanization of the people opposing each other and the issues they fight against is vital to creating real change for a cause. An example of this is best seen in street artist JR’s piece Face to Face, where JR literally humanizes the Palestinian and Israeli conflict by photographing members of both communities. JR captured images of ordinary people with ordinary jobs and placed them side by side for all to see, plastering them to walls and barricades on the streets of the conflict. When asked, the public couldn’t tell the difference between members of their own community and the members of the opposing community. It was this simple act of providing a face to their enemies that sparked a conversation among these citizens and helped create a space for dialogue to take place.
Providing a face to your enemy can provide a window into their perspective and allow space for real change and genuine conversations. The very name of JR’s piece, Face to Face, is a testament to the most important aspect of true activism. In order for activism to be real and genuine, it must take place in real time. Not hiding behind a computer screen on social media or within the bubble of your own community, but literally being in the presence of someone who is challenging what you believe to be true. Only when activism is done in real time with real people can the message of a cause be heard. True activism is the act of exposure to the opinions that differ from your own in order to humanize yourself and your cause to the people who oppose you.
Works Cited:
Dittmar, Linda. Entin, Joseph. “Jamming the Works: Art, Politics and Activism”. Radical Teacher. University Library System, University of Pittsburgh: c2012. Web Journal. 16 Jan 2017
JR. “My Wish: Use art to turn the world inside out”. TED Talks. Filmed Mar 2011. Web Video. 16 Jan 2017
Sarah Francesca Culp is a student at Lower Columbia College in Longview, Washington. She recently completed a year-long assignment with AmeriCorps | City Year, where she worked with 3rd grade students in an underserved school in Denver, Colorado.