I will present these bold creators and their specific provocations, which serve as inspiration and models that we can learn from.
We are currently living through a global crossroads in politics and society; the outcomes of today have the potential to dramatically change the course of human history. The chaos can feel overwhelming, and the problems can seem too big to address. So on a practical level, what can artists and professional creative people do during times like this? And how have they used their skillset in the past to support change? From Surrealism in the 1920s, to the Situationist International in the 1950s, and activists like Pussy Riot today, artists and creative groups living through various crossroads of modern history – for example, times of resistance, revolts, or revolutions – not only created influential art movements, but also contributed to and shaped broader political movements as well. I will present these bold creators and their specific provocations, which serve as inspiration and models that we can learn from. Together, we will think about how insights from the past could be applied to the challenges of today.
About the speaker
Hi, my name is Adrian. I’m a political historian who focuses on the contemporary history of intelligence (i.e. think spies, not IQ tests), propaganda, and political violence. With an academic background in history, economics, and philosophy, I bring a global, interdisciplinary perspective to my body of work that connects the recent past with the present. I currently work as a Senior Researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Contemporary History/Institute für Zeitgeschichte (Munich), where I am part of a research project commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior to pursue a definitive account of the attack on the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.
On the side, I am always on the lookout for successful examples of interesting, creative, and strategic tactics used by different groups – including performance, artists, designers, writers, and illustrators – to express themselves within political movements.
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