Meme-ing in Resistance

By Alfredo A. Weeks VI

Last week I had a chance to connect with a couple of artists from across the Atlantic. Bonnie Wong and Amale Khlat of the Rage Collective reached out for a Skype call. Straight from out of London, England these two women extended their hands to connect and collaborate from the other side of the pond. I, on the other hand with the mindset of an entrepreneur and possibly landing a new client, was fairly surprised in the enthusiasm and effort to build a relationship in a transatlantic think tank of artists ready to make a bit of noise. Collaborate between artists? Yeah, sign me up.

The Rage Collective, a group of artists aimed at showcasing how art and protest connect through social media in their latest 404 exhibit. An exhibit in the format of memes, documenting the turn of the decade in 1989. A tense time where social consciousness was on the rise during some of the most iconic protests, demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience made way to the fall of the Berlin wall, protest at Tiananmen square and the end of Jerry curls.

With a fine arts focus paired with a social justice outlook and the will to make their creativity coincide with a tone of advocacy seemed like this could be the perfect fit for us at FRINGE22. Connecting with Rage Collective made way for two sides of the creative spectrum to come together in fine arts and design.

Honestly, many of us graphic designers, architects and fine artists were all once kids just playing with crayons. The inner artist has always been the core for us creative types. We were turned into designers and whatnot, ready to absorb all of this industry jargon. Realizing there comes a time in our lives where we aim for our creativity to do more than amaze but rather have our works become mediums for social justice advocacy.

I put things back into perspective by reminding myself, why I’m an artist/designer/creative to begin with. Realizing how today as well as in the past artists were always passionate, fierce risk-taking entrepreneurs and advocates creating and documenting the resistance to the social viruses of the world.

I’ve always believed there is something in all of us creative types who wish our art and designs could do so much more. More than just hang a nice looking picture on the wall for audiences, more than landing a major client or art residency, I truly think we’re still those kids playing with crayon thinking about how wax and pigment on an eight and a half by eleven piece of paper will change the world. Thanks, Rage Collective for reaching out, let’s do great things.