Ar(c)tivism and Policing is a digital archival project that centers on the potency of protest art, particularly its role in resisting oppressive system such as police violence.

The series feature artworks from protests in Nigeria, the United States, Canada, Bangladesh and more-each highlighting the use of art in protest, resistance and libertory gestures against police brutality, racism and the ongoing impact of colonization. The artists behind these works attest to the transformative power of protest art in driving social change.

In Nigeria, the focus is on the 2020 Sorosoke movement, where youth-led protests demanded the disbandment of the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), known for its extortion, brutality, and extrajudicial killings. In Bangladesh, the focus is on the Bangladesh Quota Reform movement, a series of anti-government and pro-democracy protests led primarily by youth. In the United States, the protest art reflects the Black Lives Matter movement, particularly following the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis in May 2020. Similarly, in Canada, protest art has been a vehicle for activism against police brutality faced by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).

The featured artworks  are open to the public and represent a significant part of the Centre’s effort in documenting artistic expressions around policing. The repository compile protest arts-based contributions categorised under the following headings: Visual arts, Music, Performance, Documentaries, literary works, and News headlines, all of which were produced during these movements. 

By curating and contextualizing these materials, this project aims to deepen our understanding of the cultural and artistic dimensions of these protests, integrating theoretical insights with the practical realities of documentation and archiving.