Exploring Public Interventions. Communications & Media Essay

In The Interventionists, Nato Thompson makes the case that contemporary cultural movements and art practices are guided by an interventionist understanding of the role of artists and cultural work. “Interventionists,” according to Thompson, use a “motley assemblage of methods” and tactics in order to reach audiences beyond art galleries, “plac[ing] their work into the heart of the political situation itself” rather than simply commenting on it from the “outside.”
What are the “political situations” into which this week's artists / performers / cultural workers are intervening, exactly? In other words, Thompson argues that artists who use street art or graffiti, public performance, and related tactics often work to address and intervene in particular political and historical conditions. For this assignment, choose TWO of the following texts from this week and write two separate short responses based on the questions below.
1) Video: Bahia Shehab, "A Thousand Times No"
2) Article: "A Very Queer Street Art Movement Is Spreading Across the US"
3) Photo Essay: "In a Rundown Phnom Penh Neighborhood, Graffiti and Street Art Thrive"
4) Video: Theaster Gates, "How to revive a neighborhood: with imagination, beauty and art"
5) Video: Banksy, "Make this the year YOU discover a new destination," public art video installation by Banksy, available HERE
6) Performance Project: Anida Yoeu Ali, The Red Chador: https://redchadorisdead(dot)com/
For your two chosen texts, answer these questions: What specific problems or political conditions are the featured artists / cultural workers “intervening” in, in your interpretation? (There may be more than one, and it may be difficult to name all of them.) HOW are they intervening? What methods are they using? Who are the intended audiences for their work? Do you think their approach is compelling? Effective? Why or why not? (Each of your two responses should be between 150 and 350 words.)