Graphic Design Histories for Creative Dissent: Archiving and Ethical Challenges

Abstract

This timely project focuses on the graphic objects of street protest for global movements. By defining and critically engaging with histories of creative dissent since the 1950s in Brazil, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the project reveals graphic design's capacity both to address and to exacerbate social crises and inequalities. Looking at protests across the political spectrum, the project takes it as axiomatic that 'democracy' can be defined in different ways: that liberal left democracy is not the same as populist right democracy, and that both give rise to protest and protest street objects. This ethically-informed research asks: What are the national specificities of modes of visual communication for communities of resistance in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK? How might cultural memory of the development of struggles for democracy support and perpetuate the work of archiving institutions in the future? The project is situated at the intersection of graphic design history and practice, working in close collaboration with experts in the fields of critical archival studies, art history, philosophy, political science, media, cultural and religious studies. It brings these perspectives together through historical case studies spanning 70 years in each partner country, as well as design-led workshops, talks and 'in conversations', to investigate the influence of creative material forms of dissent and to share best practice in developing rigorous and ethical archiving practices. The project advocates for an approach that is deemed inseparable between creative practices with ways of knowing as a form of knowledge production. Creative research outputs include a documentary film, small press publications, and a research website. This project advances knowledge of protest movements, by demonstrating the role of designed material in consciousness-raising, identity formation and in the articulation of opinions and demands, supporting future democracies, built on fair governance and trust. (AU)