A Brief History of Protest Art

Art has always declared its dissatisfaction against the status quo. Throughout history artists have used their art to criticise and protest against a range of injustices and inequalities. Their art is an act of defiance, but more importantly it has given a voice to the marginalised.

This book is a short visual journey through eighty years of protest art. Commencing with Picasso’s Guernica in 1937, this book showcases the work of over fifty artists who have challenged traditional boundaries, spoken up for the powerless and against those who seek to deny people their human rights.

Exploring deeply political and critical art which uses irony, satire, subversion and provocation, it features responses to war, violence, oppression, gender and racial inequalities, the AIDS epidemic, LGBTQ+ rights, the Black Lives Matter movement and the climate crisis. A Brief History of Protest Art reveals the important role of art in confronting political and social issues, and how it can help to change attitudes to create a better future.

Aindrea Emelife is a curator and art historian from London. Emelife writes frequently for international publications, including The Financial Times, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, The Telegraph and Frieze. She curated the Bold Black British exhibition at Christie’s, London, Black Bodies/White Spaces: Invisibility and Hypervisibility at the Green Family Art Foundation in Dallas, Texas and Black Venus, a survey of Black women in visual culture at Fotografiska, New York. In 2021, Aindrea was featured in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 List and appointed to the Mayor of London’s Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm.