Art in Activism: Extinction Rebellion’s performance in and as protest

Abstract

Activists are increasingly deploying artistic practices in their activism, creating, what is called, artivism. The way in which artivists today deploy performance in their activism could, however, according to some authors, receive more attention. By researching how Extinction Rebellion makes use performance in and as protest, this thesis aims to respond to this call and contribute to theoretical knowledge on the use of performance in activism. Extinction Rebellion is a globally active environmental artivist group that rebels against the dying of our Earth, which they believe to be caused by the capitalist system, and aims to move towards a new regenerative culture. With their performance in and as protest, they aim to advocate for social change. A dramaturgical analysis of two protests held during the London Fashion Week 2019 in this thesis, shows how Extinction Rebellion's use of artivist and theatrical strategies and tactics allow them to attempt to reveal the hegemonic system of climate crimes and the creation of a space that invites their spectators to imagine other ways of living and dying with our Earth.