“We are the granddaughters of the witches you could not burn”. The Functions of Protest Art in the Argentinian Green Wave Movement

Sammanfattning: Protest, as a collective struggle to challenge the dominant orthodoxies, involves aesthetics that have the power to articulate the movement’s identity, protestors’ ideas, preferences, and interests. This research is a case study exploring the functions of art in the reproductive rights movement marea verde (en. green wave) in Argentina, aiming to fill in the existing research gap on the topic. The theoretical discussion is divided by concepts used by Argentine activist and scholar Veronica Gago and is accompanied with a typology of the functions of protest art by T.V. Reed. Having conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 Argentine artists, I answer the research question “What functions has protest art played in Argentine reproductive rights movement seeking to reform abortion law?”, I find that protest art has 6 functions: 1) it unites the movement and creating a collective identity; 2) it increases awareness and visualizes the fight; 3) it breaks the taboos and gives the voice to participants; 4) it acts as a therapeutic experience and gives hope for the future; 5) it opens up the discussions about women’s pleasure and sexual desire; 6) it provokes and challenges the existing regime.