Resonance of Resistance Art
in the Digital Public Space

Project Overview

Duration: 2 monts

This study conducted for Digital Resistance 2023 Course.

The intersection of contemporary art, resistance, and social media platforms presents a fascinating landscape for the exploration of the discourses on the Hamas-Israeli conflict.

Goals

Diving into the works of artists such as Escif, Maya Amer, and Hassan Ragab, who employ their art as a means of resistance.
Understanding the influence of digital platforms on the spreading and reception of these artists' artworks.
Examining whether these projects have created new discourses or resistance movements.

My Role

I carried out all the steps of this project myself:

- Research design,
- Research process,
- Analysis,
- The report and presentation.

Objectives

Explore the Artistic Practices of Escif, Maya Amer, and Hassan Ragab:

- Investigate the themes, techniques, and mediums used by these artists in their resistance-focused art.
- Examine the current socio-political context that influences their work.

Study the Impact of Social Media on Engagement:

- Conduct a thematic analysis of artists’ audiences interactions on Instagram, Twitter, and Reddit.
- Explore how sharing experiences on social media shapes and extends the followers engagement.

Explore Post-Share Dynamics:

- Investigate the aftermath of artists sharing content related to the artworks.
- Assess whether shared experiences lead to new discussions, alliances, or forms of resistance.
- Examine the artistic commentaries, news and interviews.

Identify Discussants and Interventions:

- Determine who engages in discussions surrounding these artworks on social media platforms.
- Explore potential interventions or suggestions for fostering meaningful discussions.

Methodology

Literature Review

Explore existing literature on resistance in art, movements shaped on social media platforms.

Digital Ethnography

Employ participant and non-participant observation methods to examine and analyze the artists’ and how their followers interact with the artists, their artworks and the movement on social media platforms such as Instagram, X, and Reddit.

Thematic Analysis

Investigating the artists’ followers discussions on social media platforms through thematic analysis, focusing on the artist statements, interviews, news and critics on the artwork, also comments and both artists' and audiences contributions to the resistance movements.

Significance

Reflection

This research aims to contribute to the growing discourse on the transformative power of art in societal resistance, offering a detailed analysis of how artists and their followers navigate the digital realm to shape and engage with narratives of dissent.

As a result of the project, I explained the research findings in 3 short videos and shared them on various social media platforms.

Artist Escif and the UNMUTEGAZA movement shared the video about themselves on their platforms.

Even though I could not make an engagement with other artists, other users on the platforms interacted with the posts.