By focusing on “Art and Activism in South Asia,” this issue of SAMAJ seeks to comprehend the nuanced interaction between art, politics, and social movements in South Asia, and to capture the diverse ways in which artists shape cultural and political narratives in the region. In this introduction we first discuss the notion of activism as applied to the arts, before shedding light on two specific related elements: the social figure of the artistic activist, and the positioning of activism in relation to both the artistic and political fields. In the second part we explore the roots of artistic activism in South Asia, focusing on its role within the changing relationship between art and politics on a global scale, and in the context of the rise of religious fundamentalism that has been occurring for a few decades in the region. Drawing on case studies from the articles, in the third part we address the diversity of the trajectories of artistic activism, highlighting individual narratives from the socio-economic margins. We also explore how these actions contribute (or fail to contribute) to reconfiguring power dynamics and the paradoxes they may present, such as the appropriation of artistic activism by the art market or following the dynamics of a so-called digital capitalism (Barassi 2015).

By focusing on “Art and Activism in South Asia,” this issue of SAMAJ seeks to comprehend the nuanced interaction between art, politics, and social movements in South Asia, and to capture the diverse ways in which artists shape cultural and political narratives in the region. In this introduction we first discuss the notion of activism as applied to the arts, before shedding light on two specific related elements: the social figure of the artistic activist, and the positioning of activism in relation to both the artistic and political fields. In the second part we explore the roots of artistic activism in South Asia, focusing on its role within the changing relationship between art and politics on a global scale, and in the context of the rise of religious fundamentalism that has been occurring for a few decades in the region. Drawing on case studies from the articles, in the third part we address the diversity of the trajectories of artistic activism, highlighting individual narratives from the socio-economic margins. We also explore how these actions contribute (or fail to contribute) to reconfiguring power dynamics and the paradoxes they may present, such as the appropriation of artistic activism by the art market or following the dynamics of a so-called digital capitalism (Barassi 2015).