SIGNS OF REVOLT – Direct creative actions against capitalism: screen printing workshop, talks, film screenings

  • kuda.
  • kuda.

'Signs of Revolt' (2 - 13 September 2011) is a series of events that will take place:
- screen printing workshop led by the collective 'Cactus' from London and the group 'Škart' from Belgrade (September 3 - 6, Novi Sad)
- presentation of work and conversation with members of the collective 'Cactus' and 'Škart' (2/3 September, Belgrade / Novi Sad)
- film screenings at the Youth Center CK13, Novi Sad (4 - 6 September 2011) and the Cultural Center REX (8 - 9 September 2011)
- opening of the exhibition 'Signs of Revolt' in the Cultural Center REX (September 7, 2011, 20:00)
- conversation of the participants and the leader of the screen printing workshop with the participants of the workshop ‘Public spaces - public good’ of the project WHO BUILDS A CITY

The ‘Signs of Revolt' project deals with collective artistic, design, and activist practices that could be described as creative resistance. These practices represent the collective creativity engaged in social and political movements in our country and around the world, from the late 1990s until today. The project deals with the relationship between social/political engagement and aesthetics and considers ways in which collective aesthetic solutions can contribute to the success of a social movement. 'Signals of Revolt' indicate the importance of creative action, aesthetic intervention, (self) organization, and the need to revitalize often forgotten categories such as solidarity and co-operation in modern society.

The series of events of the same name originated from the first exhibition 'Signs of Revolt' realized in London in 2009, with the aim of presenting and promoting creative forms of resistance, protests, and social movements from different parts of the world during the domination of capital.

One of the most obvious examples of creative resistance is the rebellion of the Zapatistas who came out of the jungles of the Mexican province of Chiapas in 1994 and started a rebellion against neoliberalism. With their creativity and language, they inspired activists around the world, who resolutely developed new strategies and networks from which it originated through global actions. Thus, in November 1999, the direct action of activists, environmentalists and trade unions attracted world attention, which interrupted the meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle and thus stopped the new trade cycle of capitalist globalization.

In our area, resistance has been present for a long time in a different context and in different forms. This series of events aims not only to step out of the framework of a mere perception of the culture of protest that arose in a certain period but also to encourage active reflection and development of creative strategies of resistance in the modern moment. As resistance is a constant of the thinking society, this is also an attempt to emphasize the progressive and critical position of design and the development of its engaged dimension in creating a more humane society. There is always a reason for resistance!

Screen printing workshop 'Signs of Revolt', presentation of the work and conversation with members of the collective 'Cactus' and 'Škart', film screenings at the Youth Center CK13, Novi Sad, will be the 4th part of the Festival of Self-Organization http://www.organizujse.org which organized by the Youth Center CK13, in cooperation with kuda.org, Novi Sad & Cultural Center Rex, Belgrade www.rex.b92.net).