Tag: solidarity

by jad

An Anti-Fascist Sing-Along at Folklife

In celebration of a successful collaboration, members of @brivelemusic, @shpilkisseattle, and the wider Samovar Art Collective put solidarity and ubuntu into practice by joining with Seattle @demsocialists in activating our shared exhibit space with a semi-sanctioned parade connecting the sing-along stage at the Cornish Courtyard with the Center Theatre, where you can still see our installation, THE RAISED FIST. Thank you @nwfolklife for accommodating a little bit of anarchy today. This was such a thrill! I loved seeing the wide smiles on your staffers’ faces, despite our making their lives a little more complicated for 20 or so minutes 🌹 … Continue reading “An Anti-Fascist Sing-Along at Folklife” →

by jad

First Day of Folklife: The Raised Fist

First day of Folklife. These are the sleepy hours. x Make sure you pass by the Center Theatre at the Armory this weekend to check out THE RAISED FIST, a project brought together by Seattle @demsocialists’ Arts & Culture team. The project also features artwork by middle schoolers from West Side School, taught by @christine.bingham.art. In the same space, you’ll find an exhibit on “Palestine at Folklife,” organized by the @marchforpalestine.seattle Community Archive Project. Swipe to the end to see my contribution to that project. I love how all these collectives blend together in this space. x First day of … Continue reading “First Day of Folklife: The Raised Fist” →

by jad

Invisible Cities, and Building the Raised Fist

I just finished reading Calvino’s Invisible Cities, that postmodern novel I’ve seen cited and quoted and gestured at for decades in the books about human geography and urban politics I tend to reach for first, and it was only near the very end that I felt a strong resemblance between one of his imagined destinations and Seattle: “Also in Raissa, city of sadness, there runs an invisible thread that binds one living being to another for a moment, then unravels, then is stretched again between moving points as it draws new and rapid patterns so that at every second the … Continue reading “Invisible Cities, and Building the Raised Fist” →

by jad

Collage Party: Prepping the Raised Fist for Folklife

“Are you from here or just visiting?” “I’m from here, but I’m rarely in Queen Anne.” “Well, now you know where we are.” x Seattle @demsocialists hosted a collage party yesterday as part of the final prep work for an installation on the history of the raised fist that will be shown at @nwfolklife. This project is based on research by labor historian and @seattledsa member Daniel Ammons. The main pieces are designed and fabricated by Parker Wrenn, while the installation as a whole will also feature contributions by @christine.bingham.art’s middle school students, as well as a set of very … Continue reading “Collage Party: Prepping the Raised Fist for Folklife” →

by jad

What Makes a Photo “Necessary”?

Whenever I’m anywhere with lots of people with cameras, I become painfully aware of my own camera and how low-key gross they actually are. It’s that twinge that Barthes writes about when he recognizes himself as becoming-object, but it’s worse, because, for me, it’s from both sides of the lens. I am the biggest hypocrite. I run from the gallows and happily take my place at the foot of the guillotine; I’m mixing metaphors somewhat, but I’m making another reference here: the photographer as executioner, as exegeted by Fontcuberta—the trail of dead leading back to France when the histories of … Continue reading “What Makes a Photo “Necessary”?” →

by jad

Finding a Political Home on May Day

Mr. Melee told me that he’s perma-banned from Instagram, so he probably won’t see this, but I’m sure you’ve seen him before, if you’ve been to any rally, march, or protest in past year or so. This was from May Day. I’ll be posting a few photos. Me and the other 10,000 people with cameras who were out here today. x Comrade Nate was a little suspicious of my intentions at first, but I think I won him over with the sheer power of my airtight logic: if you show up looking this cool, you’re gonna get pestered for a … Continue reading “Finding a Political Home on May Day” →

by jad

Assemblages of Solidarity (End Empire or End the World)

“What is an assemblage? It is a multiplicity which is made up of many heterogeneous terms and which establishes liaisons, relations between them… The assemblage’s only unity is that of co-functioning: it is a symbiosis, a ‘sympathy’.” (Gilles Deleuze & Félix Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus) If solidarity is emergent, then: it cannot be declared into existence; it cannot be willed by ideology alone; and it cannot be guaranteed by shared beliefs. It must be built – through organizing forms; through material arrangements; through temporal rhythms; and through shared exposure to risk and consequence. Solidarity is not a moral appeal; it’s … Continue reading “Assemblages of Solidarity (End Empire or End the World)” →