Protest art can change the world – and new fund Artcry will pay for it

At a time when our democracy seems under strain, we need artists to inspire and provoke us. Artcry will allow them to do this

'In these cataclysmic times, it has never been more important for artists to add their voices to these debates' (Getty Images)

Last summer, before any of us had heard of Covid-19, things were already looking bleak. Brexit was tearing us apart and our democracy seemed under strain. It was at this point, when many of us felt powerless and disenfranchised, that the idea for Artcry, a new fund supporting urgent artistic responses to current social and political events, emerged.

Why, we asked, was there not more protest and argument on these issues coming from artists on either side of the debate? Was it to do with a lack of motivation? Or did artists not have an opinion they could express through their chosen medium? No, it couldn’t be either of these things.

One clear barrier, we quickly realised, was a lack of funding. All art needs resources: materials, distribution or time. Artcry is not simply about producing a single piece of work, or even a programme; it is about setting up a mechanism to provide those resources for artists who have a desire to comment and provoke thought about what is going on around them – as artists as well as citizens.  

For artists are citizens, too. They have the right to protest and comment but they have the ability to express themselves, through their artwork, in a way that can move, provoke and motivate us.

There is, of course, a rich history of protest art, from Picasso’s Guernica to Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and Donald Glover’s This is America. These artists were reacting to some of the horrors and injustices occurring around them. We know these works have the power to change the world for the better. That is why we are setting up a fund to make this possible for artists who want to create protest art right now.

It is crucial. Creating new work is going to be increasingly difficult, with funding harder to find, and higher risk attached to showing work. Lockdown has also made it clear that we need to find ways to support individual artists directly with application systems, which don’t take weeks to complete, specialist knowledge and years of experience of playing the game to access.

Artcry will be welcoming proposals from artists of any discipline. We will offer small grants of up to £5,000 for each project. Most importantly, we will be making the decisions quickly, within seven days, so that the works can react to the events of the day. We have put together a small steering group of artists, activists, and producers who will be making the decisions. The members of that group will change every six months – who gets to make decisions about funding new work therefore changes regularly.

This is launch week and we will start to fundraise, partly through a crowdfunding appeal, which you can access at crowdfunder.co.uk/artcry

Across October there will be artworks and events from artists getting behind the project, including a film campaign from Moongate Productions responding to the rise in hate crimes against people of East Asian Heritage in the wake of Covid-19, an exhibition in a gallery window protesting the loss of another artist space, and a development with This Egg, a visual poster campaign from Ferg Cooper challenging us to think about the bombardment of imagery we accept on a daily basis. 

There will also be a film from Jo Paul, carving out space for grief for lives lost to coronavirus, a giant megaphone full of poetry touring the streets designed by Amy West, and, in partnership with Penned In The Margins, a live digital event with Jonzi D.

We want you to join them in supporting Artcry, sharing it, shouting about it and donating to the crowdfunding campaign to help make it happen. In these cataclysmic times of climate emergency, global pandemic and social injustice, it has never been more important for artists to add their voices to these debates. Artcry will help them do this.

Information on how to apply for funding will be posted on our website after the first round of fundraising. Visit artcry.co.uk for more information

Alistair Spalding is artistic director and CEO of Sadler’s Wells

Kathryn Bilyard is executive producer of Improbable, a company of improvisers, theatre makers and conversation facilitators