Occupy Wall Street is a movement that originated in Zuccotti Park and started on September 17, 2011. The movement began with the Canadian activist group Adbusters that initiated the protests against social and economic inequality, high unemployment, and government corruption. It soon spread through out the city, the country, and eventually it transformed into an international movement. There are many methods to making such a movement influential and successful and one of those methods is using art. CNN states that, “Art has emerged as a major vehicle for expressing the Occupy Wall Street Movement”, and they are completely correct in saying that. Many examples of art being used as a means to communicate the movement’s message can be found right here in New York City such as Occupy Museums, the “No Comment” exhibit, and the Arts and Culture committee at the Foley Square Protest (November 17th).

Occupy Museums is a series of protests that go against the “temples of cultural elitism” (Bloomberg News), also known as The Museum of Modern Art, The Frick Collection, and The New Museum of Contemporary Art. The protests consist of artists, students, and even passers-by. The protests started five weeks after the Occupy Wall Street movement began and the purpose of these specific protests was to use the democratic process to bring people together, teach people what a society that isn’t revolved around money is like, bring forth a new area of art, and to encourage experimentation outside of the limits that are set by the market, just like the exhibit, “No Comment”.

The “No Comment” exhibit was held in the former J.P. Morgan headquarters on October 8th and was scheduled to last 24 hours. It displayed art that addressed a variety of political themes through the use of pieces that were retrieved directly from the protest. The organizers of the show included Marika Maiorova and Anna Harrah. The idea for the show came to Maiorova when her September show was disrupted by metal barricades that were set up in order to help control marches led by protesters. The two women joined together, called for submissions, and received dozens of paintings, illustrations, photographs, and video installations to use for their exhibit. The exhibit served as an educational tool. It taught the public about the reality of the OWS movement and what strategies were being used to be successful activists. Ironically enough, the exhibit itself turned into a strategy, and a very effective one at that.

The most simple and evident strategies were, however, found at the protests themselves due to the efforts of the Arts and Culture committee. Methods of gaining the media’s and government’s attention included distributing flyers, presenting posters and signs, marching, rapping, performing spoken word, using the “people’s microphone”, and reciting poetry. Art captures people’s attention without using violence or breaking the law and people of all races, ethnicities, and cultures can understand images. Therefore it is the best way to go about protesting at a general assembly type of setting. Art can be a highly influential movement in itself and that is proved in these Occupy Wall Street protests.

** By showing that the Arts can contribute such a change, the protestors of the OWS movement are,at the same time, fighting for the Arts to remain strong in NYC and other areas of the world.**

sources used:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/01/opinion/elam-occupy-art/index.html
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/artists-occupy-wall-street-for-a-24-hour-show/