The rioting is on the wall

How many paintbrushes does it take to change the world? Can art, music, film, photography be used to create radical social change?

Emerging from the Sydney underground for a revolutionary inspired night at the Annandale Hotel on Saturday September 11, artRiot – one of the most radical happenings of Sydney’s first Fringe festival – will explore the power of art to be subversive and dangerous.

Already glimpses of the artRiot have been splashed on walls in the inner west, and fragments of their music has wafted over police lines at climate protests, but who knows what could happen when such an explosive collective of artists join their powers of the paintbrush, mandolin, vocal chords, video camera all fuelled by vivid imaginations and the desire to create social change.

ArtRioter, singer and banjo player with Sydney bluegrass band The Lurkers, Mithra Cox, says one of the exciting aspects of the new collective was it brought together artists from a diverse range of mediums.

“As artists we seem to come across artists who work in same medium but this time it’s a collaboration of people with the same philosophy and politics,” Mithra said.

Mithra said she and her bandmates, as artists who use their humorous and energetic style of music for political agitation, were thinking about what tangible difference they could make.

“Sometimes I fear that people will feel like they are an activist just because they’ve passively listened, but I hope people will do something as a result,” Mithra said.

“Whether it’s inviting friends to climate camp, sending a postcard to a politician, or something that will send energy out to make change, I hope if people are inspired by what they see they will act on it.”