Latin America is the most unequal region in the world. Its rich and not-so-rich are far apart from its many poor and not-so-poor. Today, at least a third of the population has been the victim of some criminal act.

The most recent data from the UN World Study on Homicide indicate that Latin America is one of the areas with the highest homicide rate in the world. This collective crisis of violence, is a result of long-term drivers such as:

  • Civil Wars

  • Trust-deficit in politics

  • Forced disappearances/ Hate Crimes

  • Displacement of native communities

  • Natural resource exploitation

  • Organized crime

  • Machism

ARTIVISM IN LATAM

The Young Latin-american Protest’s tool

2022 | TREND RESEARCH

ELISAVA | Tools & Processes for Regional Trend Research, mentored by Livia Foretti from TrendWatching

ALL THIS, IS CREATING A SENSE OF YOUNG COMMUNITY WITHIN YOUNG REVOLUTIONARY ACTORS.

Sharing as basic needs, the following:

Sense of belonging+ Freedom of Speech + Self-expression + Creativity + Search of Well-being  + Safety +. Need for Change

As a result, we’re looking at a growing trend named #Artivism. Which is described as a way of using art to create awareness and advocacy. (This type of activism can range from graffiti to performance, for instance).

Along this macro trend, in this exercise, we’ve identified 2 of the ones that compose it:

  1. CRAFTIVISM: Where craftsmanship, with more traditional ways of creation are implemented in a local scale to
    protest.

  2. INFOACTIVISM: Transforming given data and become an incidence so that current injustices are fully and correctly reported.

REGIONAL CONTEXT

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1. CRAFTIVISM

Craftivists have long held that creative pieces are a language that can be used to communicate, since craft has a unique ability to help transcend linguistic barriers, as it can be a way to transmit messages and emotions around the world.

Now, a new generation has emerged who insist that the past’s abuses should never be repeated. This generation have the ability to share their work globally through social media and form new online communities ofresistance.

SOME KEYWORDS:

#Hands for the Future | #Knitting the Good | #Embroidered Protests | #Trigger Reflection

3 PROJECTS IN REPRESENTATION:

2. INFOACTIVISM

In the digital era, the internet has become the primary tool to challenge mainstream media. Social media has become such a powerful information exchange circuit, specially after 2020. Online media reach audiences unthinkable in the age of broadcast and postal circulation.

Socially engaged art practices in Latin America with shared images platforms, data archives, etc., are becoming the new digital insertions in digital circuits.

SOME KEYWORDS:

#Hacking the Future | #Alternative Networks | #Beta Actions | #Activismo Digital

3 PROJECTS IN REPRESENTATION:

2.1 THING.NET by Ricardo Domínguez (2022) - Mexico/ USA

2.2 Netart.org.uy by Brian Mackern (2021) - Uruguay

2.3  Iconoclacistas by Julia Risler y Pablo Ares (2021)- Argentina.

TREND’S EMERGING EXPECTATIONS

  • RADICAL CHANGES IN URBAN LANDSCAPE / AESTHETICS.

    Example: Anti-monuments in Mexico City, as an act of protest agains political inactivity after punctual claims.

  • FROM REGIONAL TO GLOBAL SPREAD OF ART/ CRAFTSMANSHIP PRACTICES AS A COLLECTIVE-EXPRESSION TOOL.

    Example: New craftsmanship workshops given and taken by locals, as in the new AirBnb experiences.

  • NEWS, UPDATES & DATA GIVEN BY CITIZEN-LEAD GROUPS / SOCIAL ASSOCIATIONS, AGAINST TRADITIONAL MASS-MEDIA.

    Example: Private sector’s investment in data visualization. ir order to filter better fake news and handle infoxification for younger generations.

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