From Nope to Hope art exhibition, 15-23 Sept 2018

From Nope to Hope: Art vs Arms, Oil and Injustice, 15-23 September, Brixton Recreation Centre, 27 Brixton Station Road, London SW9 8QQ Part of the Brixton Design Trail during the London Design Festival Free entry, 9am-9pm The exhibition includes most of the art that was originally removed from the ‘Hope to Nope’ exhibition at the Design Museum in protest at the museum hosting an arms industry event. It also includes political, activist and grassroots art from the Guerrilla Girls, Jeremy Deller, Gee Vaucher, Art the Arms Fair and many more. From the iconic ‘HOPE’ graphic that helped Obama win the US presidency to street art condemning police killings; from posters of popular resistance in Syria to a 40-foot BP sea monster smuggled past British Museum security; from the Grenfell Wall of Truth to sketches made secretly inside a weapons fair; all the art in this exhibition has been used on the frontlines of social justice struggles around the world to disrupt, resist, satirise and mobilise. More information can be found on our new website: https://nopetoarms.org On social media, look for the #fromnopetohope hashtag to do some resharing. If you want to post yourself, here is some model share text: ======================= Go and see 'From Nope to Hope: Art vs Arms, Oil and Injustice'. It's both an exhibition of activist art and a protest in its own right, organised by artists who removed work from @designmuseum after an arms event. Details: nopetoarms.org #fromnopetohope #ldf18 ======================= We are also organising two events, which we warmly invite you to attend: Saturday 15th September, Launch party, 6-8pm, Brixton Rec Centre: An opportunity to meet the artists, activists and curators behind the exhibition and celebrate the art of resistance Saturday 22nd September, Dirty cash: can artists clean up arts funding? (discussion) 2-4pm, Brixton Rec Centre, Details: Speakers including Judith Knight (Co-Director of ArtsAdmin), Leah Borromeo (journalist and member of The Space Hijackers), Charlie Waterhouse (artist, This Ain’t Rock’n’Roll), Chaired by Jess Worth (co-director of Culture Unstained, member of BP or not BP?) Charlie Waterhouse, one of the organisers of the exhibition, explains the thinking behind it: "When we removed our art from the Design Museum, Co-Director Deyan Sudjic said two things: that our action was denying people the opportunity to see the work, and that we were somehow taking the easy route to protest by attacking a soft target like the museum, rather than the arms industry itself. So Deyan, back at-ya, with bells on. ‘From Nope to Hope’ not only puts the majority of the removed work back on show, it does it for free, and adds a wealth of new material and artists into the mix. Furthermore, the show exhibits the work in its activist context. The art here is a by-product of real world, grassroots DIY activism, the likes of which the ivory-towered Design Museum can only dream of through an Instagram filter. ‘From Nope to Hope’s artists break laws, get banged-up and make constant sacrifices in the name of their ethical beliefs. The show will hopefully be an inspiration for all – and a rallying cry to anyone who’s ever wanted to stand up to injustice, speak truth to power and make their world a kinder, safer, more beautiful place." The exhibition is endorsed by Campaign Against Arms Trade and the Art Not Oil Coalition. The #NopeToArms collective have signed up to the Oil Sponsorship Free commitment not to take any fossil fuel money to support their work. They encourage all cultural organisations to do the same.