Artists have beaten big business after forcing arms manufacturer BAE Systems to pull out of the upcoming ‘Great Exhibition of the North’ arts festival in England. Two acts – Nadine Shah and the Commoners Choir – cancelled their slots ...
Read More »Author Archives: James I
Feed SubscriptionBad Art northern England mini-tour finds appetite for a fightback
Peter Harris In the last week of February 2018 I was invited in my capacity as northern England coordinator for the Bad Art project to speak at three separate meetings. These were in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire; Moston, north Manchester; ...
Read More »Russia’s TV drama ‘Trotsky’: History? Haven’t heard of it
The latest smear on the Russian revolution comes from Russia itself. Russia’s Channel One is broadcasting an eight-part drama on the life of Leon Trotsky. It depicts him as a sexist, bloodthirsty gangster. It portrays the countless, nameless, self-sacrificing worker-revolutionaries ...
Read More »#BadArtWorldTour London: how the arts can help the left
By James Ivens Dozens of artists and interested campaigners took part in the discussion ‘Can art and literature provide a voice for the left?’ at the ‘Socialism 2017’ event in central London on 11 and 12 November. The session formed ...
Read More »#BadArtWorldTour Leicester showcases anticapitalist artists
by Michael Barker With this year marking the 100th anniversary of the Russian revolution, reflections upon the relationship between art and emancipation are once again at the forefront of our minds. This is why last Leicester was proud to be ...
Read More »Twin pincers of counterrevolution: Stalinism and the capitalist establishment
By Manny Thain The Royal Academy of Arts in London marked the beginning of the centenary of the Russian revolution with a major new show tracing the role art played in building the fledgling workers’ state. But it ...
Read More »How art helped make the revolution
Manny Thain Revolution in Russia swept away the dictatorial rule of the tsar in February 1917. Then in October, led by the Bolshevik Party, a second revolution set up the world’s first workers’ state. Society was turned upside down as ...
Read More »The revolutionary resilience of art
Elaine Mallon Capitalism has butchered artistic expression beyond recognition. In today’s political climate it has been reduced to its profit and investment value. Monet and Picasso have been reduced to acquisitions and investments, sought after by the super-rich and sold ...
Read More »Lessons of the Russian revolution and fighting for the arts today
A bright blast of hope: revolutionary Russia The 2017 issue of Bad Art magazine is published in the centenary year of the Russian revolution. In 1917, society and culture burst out of the dark imperial prison maintained by the landlords ...
Read More »Interview: Holger Burner, revolutionary German rapper
Holger Burner is a socialist rapper, activist and member of Sozialistische Alternative (Socialist Alternative) in Hamburg, Germany. He started releasing his own music in 2006, and has so far released four solo albums and one album with the rapper Albino. ...
Read More »