Contraculture
ROOM 4
The fourth hall sheds light to the contraculture and alternative options. Unlike warfare, the art seen in this room uses creative and peaceful ways to protest. For example Shepard Fairey’s artwork “Make Art Not War” stresses that the artist’s brushes, pencils and other tools are more powerful than any weapons.
Also, Banksy’s artwork “Choose Your Weapon” asks the audience to choose their “weapon” wisely, whether it is an image, a word, a favour or something else. Banksy is an excellent example, an artist-activist, who supports people with his art both morally and materially.
Being critical about the expansion of Tesco, the dominant foodstore in England, Banksy created the “Tesco Value Petrol Bomb”. The profit from the sales went directly to pay for the legal advice needed by the arrested Bristol locals, who were protesting against Tesco.
In 2017 Banksy opened The Walled Off Hotel, a boutique hotel and an art gallery in Bethlehem. The institution attracts attention to the wall that separates Palestinian territories and Israel. It also acts as a fund for locals, who get their projects subsidized from the hotel profit.