Jesse Welles channels the headlines into melody, singing the news with a rawness that cuts through noise and numbness. He reminds us that political consciousness isn’t just spoken, it’s felt.

Artists Who Make Resistance Visible

A living gallery spotlighting artists, across mediums and traditions, whose creativity fuels movements for justice, reclaims cultural power and reimagines what freedom can look like.

Abbetuck’s "Mobilizing Change Through the Arts" series gathers artists who remind us that art is more than expression, it’s intervention.

From fine arts and design to street murals and spoken word, each of these makers wields their craft as a tool for community, confrontation and collective dreaming.

Some transform waste into monuments. Others stitch banners of protest, draw new worlds in panels, remix ritual and rhythm, or script stories that push the boundaries of who gets seen and heard.

Whether through brushstroke, body, lens, stage or page, their work interrupts the ordinary and demands we look (and act) again.

Some names here are celebrated, others gloriously under-recognized. Together, they form a chorus of creative resistance: a testament that the arts remain a meeting ground for reckoning, remembering and building something better.

Explore, revisit, and share their stories. May these artists’ practices remind us that in every form—painting, prose, pixels, or protest—art can mobilize change where it’s needed most.

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In addition to Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui, whose work in fine arts is mobilizing change?

In addition to South Korean-born fashion designer Christina Kim, who is using design to reimagine equity and sustainability?

In addition to Brazilian artist and photographer Vik Muniz, whose media art is reshaping how we see the world?

In addition to French street artist JR, which street artists do you believe are turning public space into platforms for social and political commentary or community engagement?

In addition to textile artist Aram Han Sifuentes, who is using craft to stitch new narratives of belonging?

In addition to Aboriginal Australian artist Vernon Ah Kee, which outsider artists are reshaping how you see justice, identity or resilience?

In addition to storyteller, director, and activist Zhailon Levingston, who is using theatre to rewrite the script on justice, equity and public attitudes?

In addition to Chicana Native dancer Vanessa Sanchez, which dancers are using rhythm and ritual to reclaim space and spark change?

In addition to Canadian Inuk throat singer, songwriter and novelist Tanya Tagaq, which other musicians are using their voice to confront injustice and reclaim cultural power?

In addition to Marina Abramović, which performance artists are confronting power and vulnerability in public space?

In addition to REN1, which artists are reclaiming cultural knowledge to shape a more just world?”

In addition to Natalie Diaz, which writers are using language to reclaim identity, land and belonging?

In addition to Carlota Matos, which playwrights are lifting unheard voices and challenging dominant narratives?

In addition to Arundhati Roy, which authors are using narrative to expose power and imagine liberation? Whose prose is a portal to justice?

In addition to Alison Bechdel, which graphic novelists are using illustrated narratives to challenge injustice? Who’s drawing new lines between art and activism?

Architect and visual artist Teddy Cruz — In addition to Teddy Cruz, which architects are mapping borders, reclaiming neglected land and designing dignity into contested space? Who is designing where systems collide?

In addition to Amy Sherald, which fine artist is mobilizing change through painting or printmaking?

In addition to Yves Béhar, who in industrial or graphic design is fusing cutting‑edge technology with social and environmental responsibility?

American photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier — In addition to LaToya Ruby Frazier, which media artist is igniting change through photography or digital art? Who’s harnessing pixels, frames, or code to expose injustice?

Caledonia Curry (a/k/a Swoon) — In addition to Caledonia Curry, which street artist or muralist is turning walls into platforms for justice?

Tim Tate — In addition to Tim Tate, which craftsperson is mobilizing change in ceramics, glass, or jewelry? Craft can hold collective memory and spark resistance.

William James Association's Prison Arts Project — In addition to the William James Association's Prison Art Project in California, which outsider artists are reframing identity or resilience through folk or naïve art?

In addition to Anna Deavere Smith, which actor‑playwright is using the stage to rewrite narratives of social change?

English dancer and choreographer Akram Khan — In addition to Akram Khan, which dance innovator is using movement to address cultural or political issues? Whose choreography reclaims space and identity?

American singer-songwriter and guitarist Jesse Welles — In addition to Jesse Welles, which musician is using their sound as a call for collective action?

In addition to Guillermo Gómez‑Peña, which performance artist is challenging power and participation? Who’s using their body as a site of resistance?

Cherokee Nation citizen and scholar-author Joseph M. Pierce — In addition to Joseph M. Pierce, which cultural artist is mobilizing language, ritual and relationality as tools of resistance and repair?

In addition to Jericho Brown, which writer is forging new paths for collective empathy through poetry or creative nonfiction?

American playwright and screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney — In addition to Tarell Alvin McCraney, which dramatist is elevating unheard voices on stage or screen? Who else believes that the theater has an important role in building democracy?

In addition to Mohsin Hamid, which author is using fiction or essays to weave migration and global inequality into intimate human stories that challenge real (or imagined) borders?

Comics journalist Joe Sacco — In addition to Joe Sacco, which graphic novelist is tackling injustice through illustrated storytelling? Who’s drawing new lines between activism and art?

In addition to Liz Ogbu, which designers are listening deeply to underserved communities and transforming displacement into dignity? Who’s turning architecture into a tool for justice?

Abbetuck
Dallas, Texas | USA

The arts transform. The arts defy. Will you?