Exhibition

Signs of Change

Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now

Duration

January 23, 2009 - March 8, 2009

Curator

Dara Greenwald, Josh MacPhee

In Signs of Change: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now, hundreds of posters, photographs, moving images, audio clips, and ephemera bring to life over forty years of activism, political protest, and campaigns for social justice.

Curated by Dara Greenwald and Josh MacPhee, this important and timely exhibition surveys the creative work of dozens of international social movements. Signs of Change presents the creative outpourings of social movements, such as those for civil rights and black power in the United States; democracy in China; anti-apartheid in Africa; squatting in Europe; environmental activism and women's rights internationally; and the global AIDS crisis, as well as uprisings and protests, such as those for indigenous control of lands; against airport construction in Japan; and for radical social transformation in France.

We Resist Colonization!, Favianna Rodriguez 2004, courtesy of Interference Archive

The exhibition also explores the development of powerful counter-cultures that evolve beyond traditional politics and create distinct aesthetics, life-styles, and social organizations. Although histories of political groups and counter-cultures have been written, and political and activist shows have been held, this exhibition is a groundbreaking attempt to chronicle the artistic and cultural production of these movements. Signs of Change offers a chance to see relatively unknown or rarely seen works, and is intended to not only provide a historical framework for contemporary activism, but also to serve as an inspiration for the present and the future.

Boycott Lettuce, 1977, Chicago Women's Graphics Collective

Countries Represented:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Croatia, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States.

Hunt A Car, Kabouters, The Netherlands, 1970

Curated by Dara Greenwald and Josh MacPhee as part of Exit Art’s Curatorial Incubator. Curatorial Incubator Director: Mary Anne Staniszewski.

Dara Greenwald is a media artist and PhD Candidate in the Electronic Art Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Her collaborative work often takes the form of video, writing, and cultural organizing. She worked at the Video Data Bank from 1998-2005 and taught DIY exhibition at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago 2003-2005. www.daragreenwald.com

Josh MacPhee is an artist, curator and activist currently living in Brooklyn, New York. His work often revolves around themes of radical politics, privatization and public space. His most recent book is Reproduce & Revolt/Reproduce Y Rebélate (Soft Skull Press, 2008, co-edited with Favianna Rodriguez). He also organizes the Celebrate People's History Poster Series and is part of the political art cooperative Justseeds.org.

Protest, See Red Women's Workshop, 1976

“Signs of Change: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now” is an exhibition produced by Exit Art, NY, and was the inaugural project of the Curatorial Incubator Program. The program expands Exit Art's commitment to young and emerging curators and scholars in contemporary art, by giving material, financial, and human resources to developing curatorial talent. Working with Exit Art directors and staff, fellows curate large-scale exhibition projects, learn fundraising, develop outreach and educational programs, and co-publish a catalogue.

7th International Indian Treaty Conference, Steve Blake, 1981

Signs of Change at the Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University is underwritten in part by the Jill Watson Family Foundation. The exhibitions and programs at the Miller Gallery are supported in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as the School of Art and the College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University.

Signs of Change is supported by a major grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Additional support provided by the Museum program at the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency, and the Starry Night Fund at The Tides Foundation.

Public programs at Exit Art were supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. General exhibition support provided by Bloomberg LP; Carnegie Corporation; Jerome Foundation; Pollock-Krasner Foundation; Exit Art’s Board of Directors and its members. Exit Art gratefully acknowledges public funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and New York State Senator Thomas K. Duane. Sponsoring partners of Signs of Change are The Center for the Study of Political Graphics (CSPG) in Los Angeles and the International Institute of Social History (IISH) in Amsterdam.

Anti-Nato Demo, Artist Unknown, Germany,1982

Past Public Programs:

Jan. 23, Fri.
4:30-6pm: Curators' Talk, Visualizing Social Movement Cultures
With this interactive lecture, Dara Greenwald and Josh MacPhee will provide historical context for the works in the exhibition and discuss their research and organizational methodologies. At McConomy Auditorium in University Center, across from the Purnell Center for the Arts, Carnegie Mellon. Sponsored by the University Lecture Series + School of Art Lecture Series.
6-8pm: Winter Harvest Reception
Live screenprinting provided by Artists Image Resource + the Andy Warhol Museum. DJ Baglady will spin the music of change.

Feb. 12, Thurs.
8pm: Film Screening: Finally Got The News (League of Revolutionary Black Workers with Newsreel) + Mayday (Newsreel Collective).
@ Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Melwood Screening Room.

Feb. 19, Thurs.
5-8pm: Activist Print Open Studio. Live screenprinting provided by the Warhol + AIR @ Miller Gallery.

Feb. 27, Fri.
5pm: Critical Mass. Exhibition view @ Miller Gallery first, 5:30pm ride from Carnegie Library two blocks West.