To mobilize and to protest - these two key functions of social
movements are theatrical, public, and visual. Whether it is a
“people’s cantata” in 1970’s Chile, voter education tools in
1990’s Peru, or the picket signs carried in a worker’s strike in
North Carolina in 2003, protest art illustrates a visual
language. This language often draws upon shared cultural motifs,
design traditions, and even mass media and corporate branding to
generate complex messages that question the cultural and
political basis of power and oppression. The stylistic
affinities of protest art across space and time are compelling
evidence of historical ties and strategic convergence between
seemingly disparate actors in the social justice and human
rights movements. We invite you to further explore these issues
in the Archive for Human Rights collections of the Rare Book
Manuscript and Special Collections Library from which items in
this exhibit are drawn. The items in these cases are drawn from:
Center for International Policy recor