Artist Anish Kapoor is among more than 200 creatives who have joined the Hands Off Our Revolution movement, india.com reports. Hands Off Our Revolution was launched by London-based artists Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin, and has gathered support from creatives (including Ed Ruscha, Lynne Tillman, Trevor Paglen, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Tacita Dean and Céline Condorelli) who are hoping to use art to combat the rise of far-right populism around the world. On his joining the campaign, Kapoor has said: ‘Our art affirms our humanity and we insist on inclusion of all and for all. We call for action by people of good conscience to stand against the abhorrent policies of the governments that claim to represent us.’
The Hands Off Our Revolution mission statement reads:
‘We are a global coalition affirming the radical nature of art. We believe that art can help counter the rising rhetoric of right-wing populism, fascism and the increasingly stark expressions of xenophobia, racism, sexism, homophobia and unapologetic intolerance.
We know that freedom is never granted – it is won. Justice is never given – it is exacted. Both must be fought for and protected, yet their promise has seldom been so fragile, so close to slipping from our grasp, as at this moment.
As artists, it is our job and our duty to reimagine and reinvent social relations threatened by right-wing populist rule. It is our responsibility to stand together in solidarity. We will not go quietly. It is our role and our opportunity, using our own particular forms, private and public spaces, to engage people in thinking together and debating ideas, with clarity, openness and resilience.’
16 February 2017
