History by Design: Protest Art

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

• This educator guide provides many examples of different types of protest posters.
• This student resource gives step-by-step instructions for anyone interested in making their own poster art at home. 

The Guggenheim

• Ai Wei Wei is an artist-activist whose practice questions existing power systems and reflects his advocacy for human rights and free expression. Explore Ai Wei Wei teaching materials. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

• You can use the Collection Highlights to browse art at The Met or use the Open Access Artworks features to search for something specific.
• Free curriculum materials are available to every public school as well as lesson plans. 
• Consider the art of Jacob Lawrence, a product of the Harlem Renaissance and a history painter whose art remains as timely as ever.
  • Read this New York Times article to get a sense of who Lawrence was and what his art is about, then read this article from The Met that compares and contrast's Lawrence's Struggle Series—No. 10: Washington Crossing the Delaware with Emanuel Leutze's Washington Crossing The Delaware.
  • The article "Modern Storytellers: Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Faith Ringgold" from The Met talks about how all three African-American artists used their art to make a statement. 

The New York Times

• "Pandemic posters, “impossible exhibitions,” pictures of fungi and lockdown protests: These art accounts are a creative coping mechanism for staying engaged during a trying time."

Poster House

• Check out the Posters in Protest page to learn more about five major protests and the posters that were created. 

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture @ NYPL

• Check out the comprehensive LibGuide page on artist Tom Feelings whose passion for the fight against discrimination of black people was prevalent in his work.

T Magazine: The New York Times Style Magazine

• The 25 Most Influential Works of American Protest Art Since World War II.

• Posters and signs
• Zines
• Pamphlets
• Firsthand accounts
• Secondhand accounts
• Photographs
• News articles
• Art journal articles
• Artist statements
• Interviews with the artist

• Art that makes a political statement
• Anti-war posters
• WWI and II posters
• Vietnam protests
• Art installations as a form of protest
• Public art and public action 
• Controversial art
• Banned art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

• What Can Art Tell Us About Ourselves?
• Can a Painting Tell More Than One Story?
• Use this virtual map to take a tour of The Met and watch videos at each stop. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

• Exploring Art across Cultures: How do works of art communicate? 
  • To request a virtual field trip, please contact schoolvisits@metmuseum.org at least two weeks in advance.