Acts of Resistance

Artists can be the guardians of truth. While politicians may retreat in the hope of a later advance, artists can stand on principles. Through their work and public commitments, they are part of the struggle for social and economic justice, universal human rights, and for the protection of the earth’s riches, a common treasury for us all to share in equality and peace. Amber Massie-Blomfield’s book tells the stories of some of the most notable artists whose work has made a lasting contribution in this epic battle * Ken Loach, director of Cathy Come Home and I, Daniel Blake *A diverse, global tapestry of artistic defiance in the face of conflict and oppression. Massie-Blomfield brings to light artists who persisted in creating meaning from senselessness, bringing solace amid strife, and keeping hope alive through expression. For those already convinced of art’s political potential, Acts of Resistance serves as inspiring affirmation. For open-minded skeptics, it provides compelling grounds to reconsider dismissed possibilities. For all, it illuminates how creative spirits everywhere remain undimmed, even facing history’s harshest glares. Acts of Resistance is ultimately a wonderful and important tribute to artistic perseverance against the odds * Nitin Sawhney *We hear a lot about how the arts contribute to the national economy. In this passionate and timely book Amber Massie-Blomfield inspires the reader to resist the very basis of that question, sharing the beauty, anger and invention with which artists have defended and expanded our idea of what it means to be a social species. Massie-Blomfield’s reflective, joyful and rousing argument is seriously, hopeful encouragement * Toby Jones *A fascinating, passionate and political case for art’s world-changing power, by a fizzingly good writer * Robert Macfarlane *A passionate and personal exploration of the tricky relationship between art and activism around the world, full of surprising stories of hope and resistance in dark times. * Dorian Lynskey, author of 33 Revolutions Per Minute: A History of Protest Songs *

Amber Massie-Blomfield is a non-fiction writer and arts professional. Formerly Executive Director of Complicité theatre company, she led the first ever stage adaptation of Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk’s Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead. Previously, she was Executive Director of Camden People’s Theatre, where she was selected by the Evening Standard as one of ‘18 Women to Inspire the Next Generation’ and received the Special Achievement Award at the 2018 Off West End Awards in recognition of her work. Her first book, Twenty Theatres to See Before You Die, was shortlisted for the Theatre Book Prize and recipient of the Society of Authors’ Michael Meyer Award, as well as Gladstone Library’s Political Writer-in-Residence Award. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, and as an activist, she has also been involved with Writers Rebel and Extinction Rebellion.

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