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September 29, 2014 Rhett Jones

In a perfect example of the American tendency to think everything in the world revolves around us, some people have been under the impression that protesters in Hong Kong are mimicking the “Hand’s Up, Don’t Shoot” chant popularized in Ferguson, Missouri where an unarmed teenager was gunned down in the street by the police. According to the Atlantic, […]

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September 22, 2014 Rhett Jones

Yesterday’s march was the single largest environmental rally in history, with Metro reporting estimated attendance of 310,000 and people traveling from all around the world to participate. The United Nations Climate Summit will take place on September 23rd. During the march, Governor Andrew Cuomo declared “Climate Week.” He was joined at the rally by several politicians and celebrities, including U.N. Secretary Ban Ki-moon, […]

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September 11, 2014 Sophie Weiner

A NYC councilman has proposed an online governmental petition service for residents. Modeled on the White House’s popular online petitions website We The People, the service would require a reply from the city if a petition reached a predetermined number of signatures. “Not everyone can go to a public hearing,” said the bill’s author James Vacca. “This […]

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September 5, 2014 Rhett Jones

Nineteen people were arrested yesterday in a Times Square demonstration organized for fast-food workers seeking a livable wage. The protesters were charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing vehicle traffic after reportedly walking into the middle of 42nd Street and sitting down, before being handcuffed and taken to booking. For the last two years, the Service Employees International […]

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August 19, 2014 Sophie Weiner

A recent demonstration in Philadelphia highlighted the divided views of the current crisis in Ferguson, MO for Americans of different backgrounds. Actor Keith Wallace and friends leveraged an iconic landmark and tourist destination – Robert Indiana’s LOVE sculpture – to force a public confrontation with uncomfortable realities of racism in America. ArtNet’s Ben Davis described the scene: For more […]

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Amy K. Nelson

On the day the National Guard arrived in Ferguson, police cracked down on anyone in the street. Cops arrested citizens and journalists, and commanded that anyone on the street keep walking, so people wouldn’t congregate. The curfew was gone, but by nightfall, the teargas returned and Ferguson was being forced back into the shadows. There […]

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July 29, 2014 Marina Galperina

“Disobedient Objects” is the first exhibition of its kind to focus on the role of objects in social movements. Currently on view in London, the show addresses the drive of “design ingenuity and collective creativity” motivated by activism, defying “standard definitions of art and design.” From a Suffragette tea service to protest robots, this exhibition […]

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May 2, 2014 Aymann Ismail

Protestors gathered earlier today at Midtown’s Clinton Park Stable to stand up for a horse named Caesar, an asthma-stricken 22-year-old whose shady carriage driver falsified records by switching hoof identification and passed him off as a healthy 12-year-old buck. About 45 people showed up, holding NYCLASS and PETA banners. “The carriage industry has four stables,” Allie Feldman, Executive Director of […]

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March 31, 2014 Marina Galperina

ANIMAL’s feature Artist’s Notebook asks artists to show us their original “idea sketch” next to a finished piece. This week, Ekaterinburg-based urban intervention and street artist Tima Radya talks about Figure #2: Game — a giant, dynamic sculpture welded from steel, lifted by cranes and exploding with two billion ruble bills. (Translated from Russian.) I wanted to show the project […]

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March 17, 2014 Andy Cush

Turkish protester Ali Emre Mazlumoğlu took the above photo from the back of a police van March 7. Selfie dediğin polis otosunda gözaltındayken çekilir (7 Mart) pic.twitter.com/oc5Lit3Z1z — Ali Emre Mazlumoğlu (@AEMazlumoglu) March 10, 2014 The caption, roughly translated, says they’re in custody in a police car. The photo, of course, recalls Ellen Degeneres’ famous Oscars […]

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