Occupy Wall Street has captured the public imagination like nothing in recent memory. This is the opportunity we have been waiting for, a chance to transform the existing political landscape and build a mass movement for economic justice. Not An Alternative’s aim is to create beautiful compelling images that frame the message of Occupy Wall Street and call attention to the movement’s message. We believe the images coming out of the occupation need to be symbolic and tactical, inspiring and illuminating. Iconic imagery coupled with the grassroots energy of OWS will have an impact across the country.
As the Occupy Wall Street movement has grown in prominence and power, no doubt its opponents will step up
efforts to damage its brand. These efforts will aim to dilute the focus on the issues that OWS represents. In this
context, OWS needs mediagenic visual framing and aesthetically-driven actions that can reclaim the message. Productive visual memes and well-implemented actions can serve to galvanize, inspire, and drive our message in the news. These memes can be actively distributed and virally spread to other occupations, tying Topeka to Detroit, Wall Street to Washington D.C..
To this end, Not An Alternative will produce five to seven carefully considered and executed actions in coordination
with members of Occupy Wall Street and community organizations on the front lines of the economic crisis. These discrete and well-planned actions will be conceived and coordinated by experienced activists and strategists who have worked with the most media savvy, nonviolent direct action organizations, including groups like Greenpeace, Oxfam International, The Ruckus Society, and Avaaz. Props and graphics will feature prominently in order to tell a visually gripping story about corporate malfeasance and economic justice that can spread through traditional and social media channels and transform people’s understanding of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
The NY-based non-profit Not An Alternative has a long history of producing these kinds of projects. For the past several years Not An Alternative has worked with groups like Picture The Homeless, FUREE, National People's Action, Organizing for Occupation, New Immigrant Community Empowerment (N.I.C.E), and Housing is a Human Right. With Picture The Homeless we helped choreograph and visually frame a homeless building occupation, and also a tent city occupation in a vacant bank-owned lot, which was live-blogged by the NY Times and got electeds engaged. Both actions were read as activism/organizing within the political/organizing world, but they were successfully articulated and defended within an art historical discourse as well, with coverage in Art Forum, Art in America, PBS's Art21 blog, and video documentation screened in galleries and museums, including Tate Modern in London, Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City, and Queens Museum in NYC.
TO PULL THIS OFF HERE'S WHAT WE NEED MORE OF!
1) Volunteers. For the next 6 weeks Not An Alternative will coordinate an "art build" operation with the intent to launch a series of projects and actions that are both symbolic and tactical, in collaboration with members of Occupy Wall Street and local and national community groups on the front lines of the economic crisis. We're looking for folks who can wield paint brushes and drills, have design skills and/or logistical organizing chops, can shoot video or take pics, or drive trucks...starting this week! Sign up here to get involved.
2) Funding. We have raised half the funds for these projects but are looking for additional support. If you have any ideas, suggestions, leads, or are interested in more information please write info[AT]notanalternative.net, we'd be happy to send you a full proposal.
If you'd like to help make these projects happen, here's a link!