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 battleKen 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 oddsNitin 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 encouragementToby Jones

A fascinating, passionate and political case for art's world-changing power, by a fizzingly good writerRobert Macfarlane