Painting as an Activism Tool in Shaping Societal Norms and Values
Conference: ISA 22nd Annual International Conference (2025)
Presenter(s): Chinonyelum Gloria Okonkwo
Tags: 2025 Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka Chinonyelum Gloria Okonkwo
Abstract
Paintings are powerful visual sponsor for major peace and activist movements across the globe. Major streets of the cities and communities are lined up with paintings that were used to provoke thoughts, that inform, educate, protest beautify and communicate with the individual and entire society. Presently, in most places, painting functions as site for activism by catalyzing community action at their physical sites, creating a sense of global antislavery culture that extend into the streets and communities and help to create a narrative of empowerment over the victimization within the modern antislavery visual culture. Ironically, most people still see painting only as a mere tool for entertainment and decoration. This study aims at using painting as an activism tool for shaping the societal norms and values. Painting works that comment on the use of painting to enhance societal values and norms were analyzed. The study employs a qualitative research method and it reveals that painting could be used as a vehicle to mount an advocacy against some of the ill behaviours that contradicts good values and norms in the society. The study utilizes survey as its research design. It employs observation as its research instrument for the collection of data. This research call for more studies that will project painting as an activism tool from various view points.
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