Back in March 2021, a coalition of artists and activists planned a 10-week long series of various forms of protest against the leadership of the New York, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Explaining their case, Strike MoMA directs attention to the chair of the museum’s board, billionaire, Leon Black who has financial links with, convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. Pressured from outsider activists and board members, Black announced his plans to step down in March.

The International Imagination of Anti-National Anti-Imperialist Feelings (IIAAF) launched the campaign to Strike MoMA. Despite Black’s exit, the movement agrees the issue is the MoMA itself. Explained in the movement’s framework is the flaws of the MoMA: ‘The museum is converted into a theatre of operations where our entwined movements of decolonization, abolition, anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism can find one another.’ The power of the elite to declare what is formally recognised as art by a respected institution can alienate the rest of society, particularly those unrecognised by hierarchical systems.

The weeks of protest spanned from the Guerrilla Girls’ rewriting their 1990 Code of Ethics for Art Museums, to infographics from Decolonize This Place on museums trustees funding the NY police, to in-depth conversations on modernity, public protests, marches, and letters.

Though the 10-week protests ended in June with a march of hundreds to the MoMA entrance, the attraction garnered has perpetuated conversations to change the elitism of the art world. Their online explanations show the connected struggle between various strata of society that are trodden on by absurdly wealthy elites. Museums contain to perpetuate a view of white, Western, and male superiority; epitomising all other art against the Italian Renaissance or modernism of Dali, Picasso, or Duchamp.

Museums present a narrative of history, by constantly omitting people of colour and presenting a story of imperial success, they are refusing to move history forward with the narratives of today that allow for critical thinking of the past. For art to be declared modern or contemporary, it becomes embedded in its context. The surge of BLM support last summer defined the links between society, politics, and culture. By exhibiting the experience of artists of colour, refugees, the working-class, Indigenous peoples, and the results of colonialism today, museums can aid in critically viewing history and presenting a modern view of the past. Allowing for representation in museum spaces and fair chances to exhibit will increase the audience of those who view art, being able to relate to a subject in a museum or feel moved in an art gallery by an artist who you can understand will speak directly to many viewers.

Their movement brings together with shared ideas and expierences, from BLM, to freeing Palestine, being part of a union or a worker, and creating art, these people come together to defend themselves as a powerful mass against oppressive institutions. Strike MoMA will place the community of artists at the centre of decisions of what is considered art today, instead of at the hands of distant elites.

Words by Caitlin Sahin

The post Strike MoMA: How to Modernise the Museum appeared first on Voir Fashion.

Last week, the Conservative party unveiled their police, crime, sentencing, and courts bill. The bill proposed changes to law enforcement and sentencing in England and Wales. Since its unveiling, the bill has caused public concern over its potential to pose a threat to human rights, its allowance for less government accountability to the general public, and its ability to successfully award more power and control to the government – and yesterday, on the 16th March, the bill passed its second reading by 359 votes to 263. No member of any opposing party voted for the bill, and no member of the Conservative party voted against the bill.

How does the bill affect our rights?

The PCSC bill allows law enforcement to shut down any protests of which it believes ‘may result in serious disruption to the activities of an organisation which are carried on in the vicinity of the procession’. The issue here lies with the vague grounds on which protesting may be deemed to be of ‘serious disruption’. Protests often include loud music, megaphones, shouting, etc, so if the bill cracks down on the noise levels permitted for a protest (which it does), then key elements of protests which serve to a) gain public attention b) spread their message far and wide and c) draw focus to the extent of people who have joined the protest, have been targeted. The bill states that if protestors refuse to follow orders on how their protest should be conducted, they can face fines of up to £2,500, and as BBC News reports; ‘It will also become a crime to fail to follow restrictions the protesters “ought” to have known about, even if they have not received a direct order from an officer’.

Over the summer, demonstrations against institutional racism took place across the globe as more instances of police brutality both in the US and UK gained much social media attention. In the wave of protests that ensued after the murder of George Floyd, public attention turned to the problematic issue of the statues erected across the country celebrating historical figures who had such strong ties to the slave trade. In Bristol, the statue of Edward Colston who had a strong involvement in the Atlantic Slave Trade, was toppled and pushed into the waters of Bristol Harbour. Whilst to many, the defacing and removal of a statue that celebrated the life of a racist figure seems like a positive, progressive change, authoritarian-like figures in the UK perceived this as a direct attack on British history. What that fails to consider, however, is that the toppling of the statue of a prolific racist actually educates many people about British history to a greater extent. The PCSC bill specifies that damage to such memorials will now result in a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

The bill has gained much attention on social media over the threat it poses to our right to protest and its overreaction to the damage of memorials, but another hugely problematic issue with the bill is that it also cruelly targets the Gypsy, Roma & Traveller communities. For clarity, the threats posed to the GRT community are outlined here.

Travellers Against Racism took to Twitter to express their major concerns for what this bill means for them.

This all comes as very little shock to those who have an awareness of the current government’s views on human rights, for reference, you can view the current Prime Minister, Boris Johnson’s voting record on human rights issues here.

How does this bill award the government more control?

The bill’s broad terms on how they define a ‘disruptive’ protest mean it’s potentially wide open for protestors to be treated as criminals for simply making noise about an issue that is ‘inconvenient’. It’s not a huge jump to argue that the government would utilise this bill to incriminate those who protest against the government either, we only have to look at the UK government’s unlawful proroguing of parliament in 2019 to see this. 

The lack of second-party consultation for the PCSC bill should also raise major concerns over the extent of control the government has been awarded. There are no stipulations regarding another institution intervening with the way in which these laws are exercised. 

David Lammy, the Labour MP for Tottenham and the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor declared in his speech in commons yesterday that –

“By giving the police the discretion to use these powers some of the time, it takes away our freedoms ALL of the time”

Where is the outcry?

Unfortunately, the dangerous implications of this bill passing did not feature on some major news outlets’ evening news shows, but why?

Firstly, the 307-page bill was released one week before parliament had to vote on the processing of the bill, meaning the time for close analysis was incredibly short, not allowing for ministers and the public to properly scrutinise and understand the bill fully. 

Secondly, confusion around the permanency of the bill has affected the concentration of outcries. In a recent YouGov poll on 14-15th March 2021, 59% of Britons believed vigils or marches should not take place during a pandemic, whilst 26% of Britons believe they should. The PCSC bill, however, is not in place to monitor the protests that occur during a pandemic, but rather, intervene and crack down on protests that occur during and after the pandemic.

The recent behaviour from Met Police at the vigil of Sarah Everard raises much cause for concern regarding the PCSC bill allowing police lawfully to intervene with future protests.

Is there anything we can do?

Whilst the reality of this PCSC bill appears bleak and daunting, it’s no reason to give up. The option to contact your local MP’s and express your concerns over the bill is still available and important. You can also follow #KillTheBill hashtags online to see what type of zoom meetings and live streams are available for you to watch in order to gain a better understanding of the implications of the bill as well as be involved in the fight against it. Lastly, investigate joining a union for your workplace, a measure that can help protect you against everyday injustices. 

If you would like to read a copy of the PCSC bill you can do so here.

Words By Megan Selway

The post The UK Policing Bill: What Does It Mean? appeared first on Voir Fashion.

Serious question. Have you ever walked down the street to experience the chilling feeling that you’re being watched? Well, hate to break it to you, you probably are.

Since the Metropolitan police announced that live facial recognition cameras will be used on London streets, many “anti-face” activists have been getting creative to work against the issue of involuntary identification.

Between 2014 and 2018, the accuracy in facial technology has seen a 20X increase with more and more demand for it every year. Everything from unlocking a phone, to identifying a shoplifter, facial recognition is literally everywhere you go. And, particularly in recent times, it’s even being used to identify protestors.

Since thousands have been taking part in protests against police brutality in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, the topic of ‘anti-surveillance’ makeup has become of huge interest. Essentially, it’s the technique of applying makeup to try and trick artificial intelligence systems and to stop Big Brother from keeping his eye on you!

But what’s the point? Well, last year an independent study found that 81% of people arrested under the London Metro Police facial recognition system were innocent. Meaning, the system is errored. So, to prevent these false accusations, activists have been designing products to beat the system.

So, who’re the brains? Way back in 2010, Adam Harvey, designer of anti-surveillance fashion, designed a line of anti-drone hijabs and hoodies, which contained certain reflective fabrics to counterbalance thermal surveillance. The project was named Computer Vision Dazzle (aka, C.V Dazzle, or facial dazzle as people are calling it) and looked at how artificial facial shapes, pigments and patterns can be used as a form of camouflage to prevent face recognition technology. Madness, right?

In an interview with Vogue, Sasan Mahmoodi, a lecturer at the University of Southampton said: “If you add man-made objects to the face, like makeup, to produce more edges on faces, then this might create problems for surveillance systems, and obviously the recognition rate might be negatively and dramatically affected.”

Similarly, Polish designer Ewa Nowak’s designed a brass mask, a type of metal jewellery that distorts your face. Think, a form of sunglass that comes with its own anti-algorithm blocker.

She started her project, Incognito, under her own nervousness about who exactly is watching you when you’re on your laptop or phone. I mean, who’s to blame her. We’ve all covered our laptop camera at least once in our lifetime, right?

These techniques have been picked up by many privacy campaigners, including the Dazzle Club, who wear anti-surveillance makeup in silent protest against facial recognition cameras. Yep, they may get a lot of stares on the street, but at least it’s not from the cameras! None the less, all these efforts are to raise awareness around one simple question. Is involuntary identification ethical?

Words by Clare Stephenson

Graphics by Katie Janes

The post Is Anti-Surveillance Makeup the New Way to Protect Your Identity? appeared first on Voir Fashion.

As the wind of the Black Lives Matter protests keeps rising in America and around the world, the beginning of Pride Month marks a new addition to the movement in support of Black trans people.

Together, the LGBTQ+ community and the BLM movement have been the protagonists of this week’s latest protests. Activists have rallied in multiple cities across the U.S. to highlight undermining issues that affect Black LGBTQ+ individuals, such as police brutality, discrimination, and racism.

Thousands of people have marched for change and justice following the killing of two Black trans women, Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells, 27, and Riah Milton, 25. Fells was found dead on the shore of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, while Milton was shot several times in a robbery attempt in Ohio.

Dominique Fells and Riah Milton Illustrations by African@AAPolicyForum

Their deaths fuelled anger among the Black and the LGBTQ+ communities, especially after the police misgendered the victims and following the decision of President Trump to allow health care providers to deny support for trans individuals.

It’s not the first time Black trans people have been targeted or discriminated by the police: earlier in March, three other Black trans individuals were murdered and their names never got to be remembered.

As reported by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), in 2020 there’s been at least 15 transgender or gender non-conforming people murdered by violent means, but many other stories may still be unreported.

However, united in a country-wide protest, people are demanding to have justice, to say their names, and to show love to Black trans lives. On June 14, an estimated 50,000 people manifested in New York City, Los Angeles and Brooklyn, equipped with colourful signs and white t-shirts as a nod to the 1917 silent protest parade organised by the NAACP.

The peaceful protests and silent vigils were also accompanied by Drag marches, speakers and Pride Liberation manifestations, and will continue to protest in the next couple of days.

Some of the organisations present at the rallies included: the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, The Okra Project and Black Trans Femmes.

‘All Black Lives Matter’, the powerful statement painted on Hollywood Boulevard, LA, is the background for these protests which have now flooded social media feeds.

On Twitter, the families and friends of the victims share some thoughts and memories, inciting people to call for justice. The hashtags and serve as a tribute to them but also to get people involved in the protests.

Between protests, petitions and donations, there are many ways you can spread awareness to help the movement: with the many LGBTQ+ organisations involved, you can financially support the community by visiting their website and make a donation.

Donate here: • The Okra Project

• The Black Trans Travel Fund • Black Visions Collective • All About Trans • The Marsha P. Johnson Institute • GoFundMe (for Fells and Milton’s funerals)

You can also share the number for the first transgender suicide hotline in the U.S., the

Trans Lifeline. Reach at 877-565-8860.

Additionally, these are some of the petitions you can sign:

Justice for Pete

Protect Black Trans Women!

More protection for Black Trans Women UK

Words by Gennaro CostanzoCover by Clare Stephenson

The post Black Trans Lives Matter: How To Donate To Support The Movement appeared first on Voir Fashion.