GAPA – the Global Arts and Politics Alliance – is a not-for-profit non-governmental organisation based and registered in Graz, Austria although we operate globally. GAPA brings together a unique mix of media artists and individuals involved in the domain of political science. It is the goal of GAPA to unite these two groups in an environment of exchange and creation, to foster political knowledge and critical thinking, as well as “art activism”. In order to do this, we envision an annual event, workshops and trainings, publications on matters related to “art activism”, an online forum, and much more. GAPA was set up in September 2015 so it is still quite new. At the moment, we are in the midst of gathering applications for our first-ever Executive Committee. Applications can be found here.
Now is the time for an organisation like the Global Arts and Politics Alliance, simply because we can witness the importance of art activism every day. Facebook sites like “Art Against” and “ArTIVISM” have well over 20.000 followers each, artists and media contributors like Banksy, Luis Quiles, John Holcraft, Adam Curtis and many more have been gaining significant attention on social media, and thus particularly among young, critical-minded people. Thanks to technology there is now an easy and efficient way to connect, to mobilise and to generate a community of exchange and creation. No organisation has done what we are doing, so we can truly make a change in the world of the arts, politics and art activism.
The Global Arts and Politics Alliance was founded in September 2015 by two students of political science, Dragana Comagic from Montenegro and Wanda Tiefenbacher from Austria. Together with our Executive Committee (ongoing applications, apply here) we envision to realise the goals of GAPA, alongside the input of our members, followers, friends and patrons.
The GAPA structure is simple: there is an Executive Committee made up of eight members, which aims to realise the goals of the organisation. The Executive Committee is accountable to the Supervisory Committee (more information tba), and both are accountable to the paying membership base of GAPA, which gathers annually at a General Assembly usually tied to our envisioned GAPA event. Membership applications have not opened yet, but will do so by the end of this year. GAPA runs according to its statute, which can be viewed and downloaded here (in German). The structural and operational costs incurred are paid for by national and international grants, donations, and membership fees.
Dragana Comagic and Wanda Tiefenbacher, both graduate students of political science, decided to combine their interests for political science as a discipline and art as a way to further political awareness and social criticism. Following some negative NGO experiences, they thought about founding their own organisation based around a topic they really care about: political art, and the advancement of its status in the political and artistic world. GAPA was founded in September 2015 and is registered in Graz, Austria as a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation.
The GAPA goal is simple: we want to build a bridge between arts and politics. We do so by providing our members access to a unique community of changemakers worldwide. Members of the GAPA Community will have guaranteed access to the GAPActivist Convention, the GAPA Forum as well as the GAPA Think Tank. All three are unique ways to get involved in art activism, to further your skills, to make connections and to further critical discourse.
In all seriousness, we hope that in ten years time all the big names in political art will come to our events, be our patrons, and help us in our vision to further political knowledge, critical thinking and art activism. We were thinking of Banksy, Adam Curtis, John Howlcroft and the like. We want to become the first name in the world of political art and the main network for people aiming to get involved in social change through artistic innovation, whatever form that may take.
Members of the GAPA Community will have guaranteed access to the GAPActivist Convention, the GAPA Forum as well as the GAPA Think Tank. At the convention, our members can exhibit their art, present their political ideas and experiences, and engage in workshops to further skills related to art activism. The Forum is a unique feature of the platform which provides a space for exchange, discussion and collaboration. Last but not least, the GAPA Think Tank brings together those who want to publish their insights on topics relevant to the social/political discourse. If all goes well financially, GAPA envisions to provide its members with fully-funded events, travel grants, Art/Activism Awards, regular trainings and workshops, and much more. Read more about the benefits of joining the GAPA Community here and join us! Note: membership is free until July 2016, afterwards it will cost only 5 Euros per year!
The GAPA founders and the Executive Committee are always looking for bright and articulate individuals with ideas and projects to share. When no calls for applications are running, feel free to email [email protected] anyway to share your idea – usually there is always a way for new people to get involved in the back-end of the organisation.