Strike Anywhere
OPENING RECEPTION
Friday, September 
7, 6 – 8 pm
Strike Anywhere presents the extraordinary rise of popular pro-democracy movements across the globe over the last 18 months, focusing specifically on events such as the Arab spring, the conflicts in Libya and Syria, and the Occupy Wall Street Movement.
The movements represented in this exhibition have deployed a range of tactics, from civil disobedience to armed resistance. Brought together, however, they demonstrate that powerful new forces and voices are evolving, utilizing new media and social networking to collaborate, connect, and perpetuate the need for self-determination and freedom of speech. Rising up like a wave, these movements form communities which effectively circumnavigate and resist governments and regimes that seek to censor and suppress. Economic disparity, the experience of displaced peoples, the occupation of public space, and the reconfigured role of women, figure prominently in this exhibition. The democratization of media and the development of social networking tools has allowed for the unprecedented and immediate documentation, distribution, and discussion of events. This technological shift has driven the wildly accelerated pace and reach of information, aiding the proliferation of pro-democracy movements around the world.
It is solidly within the tradition and values of ICP that our alumni bear witness to these extraordinary events, sometimes at great personal risk, witnessing, recording, and commenting on the powerful new forces and voices rising up across the globe. The reportage and conceptual work presented here advance a powerful platform for dialogue, and reflect a movement that can carry shared ideals across private and public, local and global boundaries, demonstrating that citizens, journalists, artists and activists can all Strike Anywhere.
Monsters & Madonnas 