PROTEST – 24 media artworks on demonstrations and political actions in public space offers a multifaceted view of how video and media artists work with the imagery, structures, symbolism and impact of various forms of protest and political activism within the public domain.

Twenty video and media artists from seventeen countries and five continents investigate the layered entanglements between online media, media art and contemporary visual culture, shaped by the camera’s ubiquitous presence. PROTEST takes a broad perspective on the power of the camera and control over the image. The media artists, online image researchers and filmmakers in PROTEST explore this dynamic from two positions: either behind the camera/screen (‘witness this’) or within the frame (‘witness me’).

PROTEST tells powerful and relevant stories addressing racial and gender equality, war, freedom, human rights, democracy, capitalism, corruption and climate emergency. The participating artists initiate, stage, document, analyse and reimagine protests – and their imagery – into thought-provoking video installations and short documentaries that cut through protest’s portrayal in the news.

PROTEST also shows how artists and filmmakers pursue greater understanding, imagination and a meaningful connection with the viewer. From 13 September, twenty large and several smaller darkened spaces will fill with the sounds of thousands of protesters, music, sirens, megaphones and chants in dozens of languages, expressing a palpable sense of urgency, despair, anger and solidarity.

Respecting the many sensitive issues at stake, the exhibition demonstrates how video art and new media serve as powerful tools for understanding our changing society. Conceived as a ‘temporary collective of images’, PROTEST is a multi-voiced, compelling and impactful exhibition that captures the charged atmosphere of our times. It offers everyone ways to make sense of today’s protests and those still to come.

Curator: Bart van den Boom / Film clip: Emin Özmen (TR) Witnessing Gezi (2013)