In Praise of the Placard . . . A look back at 2010
December 31, 2010
Looking back at our 2nd year of peg doll demonstrations, cloth-crafted slogans and music filled protest with the children of London, Edinburgh, Dorset and Ledbury, a sense of prescience can be felt.
When we began our Protest Camp project in 2009, our aims were to instill a sense of what democracy really is to young people, to hand them the tools for ‘creative rebellious thought’. Our aim was to create a forum for discussion and expression where the individuals’ beliefs are celebrated and writ large upon glorious bright cloth. The sight of children up and down the country armed with banners and megaphones has been a delightful and thrilling spectacle, and one which the parents and associated adults have been moved by. It has been often remarked that to see this young generation with their dreams hoisted high has reminded everyone involved that we all have a right to our say, and that this sense of self-determination is a precious thing which must be nurtured above all else.
December 2010 has seen a remarkable return to the forum of protest. Countrywide we now see young people and children taking part in this vibrant and vital form of dissent. The powers that be have sadly seen this as a threatening development and one which must be quashed. However this belief in the right to protest is one which will not cease, and now it has found its voice it cannot be silenced.
Here’s to another year of poetical intervention, creative empowerment and inspiration to all.
Long Live the Placard !
Nikky and Sarah. The Mischief Makers. London, December 31st, 2010.
Barbara Kruger
