In the last few years numerous global social movements and political protests, many of which are ongoing, have brought inequities and systematic violence into the foreground of public discourse. These upheavals have focused specifically on wealth inequality and the ways in which it reinforces tyrannical rulers and oppressive regimes, and erodes democracy, public wellbeing, and environmental stewardship. In the United States of America, our current system of government, social structures, and cultural values continue to uphold inequitable power dynamics and extreme wealth disparities and ignore the looming climate catastrophe. The upcoming U.S. presidential election already impacts our public discourse, and will undoubtedly deeply affect our future reality.
Throughout our 2021 programmatic theme, Revolution, SFAI will support research, artworks, and creative actions that use artistic imagination to provide sites of resistance, instances of engagement, and solidarity with transformational movements. We seek proposals that aim to revolutionize the status quo and which are bolstered by creative insurrection, utopian imagination, and an expansive agency wherein everyone–across a range of ethnicities, nationalities, gender identities, and abilities–has the power to shape reality.