Utopianism

We, the Guerrilla Arts Brigade, hereby reclaim the words utopianism, idealism, and dreaming. These synonyms mean being dedicated to imagining a human society based on the values of love, peace, justice, equality, sustainability, and unity, and taking steps toward realizing these principles on a collective and individual level. All three of these words implicitly recognize the impossibility of reaching the imagined goal of a perfect society, because evolution is a never-ending process. “Utopia” means “no place,” because the utopian society exists only in the realm of dreams; it is an imagined ideal to strive for, to be approached but never reached. In the true sense of the word, utopianism is an intensely practical creed, because it involves constant evaluation, criticism, and change, according to the context of the present. It is also a revolutionary philosophy, because it calls on governments to uphold utopian values through large scale reorganization and redistribution of resources. From a utopianist perspective, “positive social change” is synonymous with “evolution.”

We believe that Art is a powerful tool for evolution, because it has the potential to act as a weapon of mass creation. We believe that all people are inherently creative, imaginative, and therefore artistic. We believe that art is a fundamental expression of humaneness and should be an essential part of daily life and rituals. We believe there should be an abundance of free, public art. By taking steps toward realizing this vision, we intend to use art in the service of our utopian dream.

This is Eduardo Galeano on the subject of utopia: “She's on the horizon... I go two steps closer, she moves two steps away. I walk ten steps and the horizon runs ten steps ahead. No matter how much I walk, I'll never reach her. What good is utopia? That's what: it's good for walking.”