September 22, 2023 through January 30, 2024
Neilson Library, ground floor

Bold declarations, engaging artwork, and provocative imagery are at the heart of Radical Visions: The Art of Protest Posters, a new exhibit featuring social, political, and cultural protest posters throughout the 20th century.

Presented by the Smith Office for the Arts (SOFA), in collaboration with Smith College Special Collections and Libraries, the exhibit is displayed on the gallery wall located on the ground floor of Neilson Library and runs September 22, 2023 through January 30, 2024.

The exhibit celebrates the power of art as protest and the range of artistic forms protesters use to inspire social, political, and cultural change. These particular selections from Smith College Special Collections explore how artists and activists use images and text as affordable tactics to inform, persuade, and arouse emotions that give rise to social consciousness.

The exhibit also encourages the viewer to reflect on the myriad of ways art is used to inspire people and shape new futures.

Radical Visions: The Art of Protest Posters is co-curated by Leigh Fagin, Jean and David W. Wallace Foundation Director for the Office for the Arts and Sydney Nyguen, Exhibitions Coordinator in Special Collections. The exhibit can be found on the ground floor of Neilson Library and is the first-ever to be erected in the exhibition space.

 

Related Programs and Events

Creative Complaining with the Guerrilla Girls
Monday, October 2 ,2023 7–8 p.m.
In a presentation open to Smith College students, staff, and faculty, Guerrilla Girls will share their history and activist public art practice.  Presented by the Wurtele Center for Leadership in partnership with the Smith Office for the Arts.

Aestheticize UR Activism with the Guerrilla Girls
Tuesday, October 3, 2023 4–6 p.m.
Create your own public art activist campaign at this workshop open only to Smith students. Participation limited to 30; registration required on the Smith Social Network.

Pop-Up Exhibit of Artwork by the Guerrilla Girls
Smith College Museum of Art
Tuesday, October 3, 2023 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Printmaking Workshop with Emma Nishimura
Hillyer L08 (Printmaking Studio)
October 25-27, 2023 
The annual Smith College Printmaking Workshop returns this year with visiting artist Emma Nishimura. For 40 years the Workshop has invited prominent artists to develop printmaking projects in Smith College studios while in conversation with Smith students, staff, faculty and the surrounding community. https://www.emmanishimura.com/

Multiplying Power: Image as Protest in Prints and Photographs
Smith College Museum of Art
Through January 2024
This installation displays a range of prints and photographs from the SCMA collection whose circulation documents and sparks social change.

Amplify Public Art Competition
This year, the Wurtele Center for Leadership is partnering with the Smith Office for the Arts (SOFA) and Neilson Library to sponsor the 2023-24 Amplify Public Art Competition. We are issuing a Call for Proposals (CFP) for a temporary public art project in the form of an installation to be displayed on the ground floor of Neilson Library in response to Radical Visions: The Art of Protest Posters. Read more about the process, criteria and deadlines here.

Contact

For questions regarding the exhibit, contact Leigh Fagin, Director, Smith Office for the Arts.
For questions regarding the exhibit's posters or Special Collections, email specialcollections@smith.edu.