Instituto de Artivismo Hannah Arendt (“INSTAR”)
The Instituto de Artivismo Hannah Arendt (INSTAR), founded in 2015 by Cuban artist and activist Tania Bruguera, is a civic platform based in Havana that merges art and activism to foster civic literacy, encourage democratic public engagement, and generate non-violent societal transformation. Established following a 100-hour public reading of Hannah Arendt’s “The Origins of Totalitarianism,” INSTAR serves as a space for dialogue, education, and action, aiming to empower Cuban citizens to become active participants in their society, and apply the arts to activism as a tool for material change.
INSTAR operates through three main components: The “Wish Tank”, where individuals can freely express their aspirational ideas and visions of change for the world; the “Think Tank”, which then develops these ideas into actionable policy proposals through collaboration with artists, activists, economists, and urbanists; and the “Do Tank”, which implements these proposals in the public sphere via various means. By engaging people across various political spectrums and educational backgrounds, INSTAR aims to foster a more informed and participatory society, utilizing art as a catalyst for nonviolent political change.
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Resources
Bruguera, Tania. “Where Your Ideas Become Civic Actions (100 Hours Reading “The Origins of Totalitarianism”).” Hamburger Bahnhof, Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, 7 Feb. 2024, https://www.smb.museum/en/exhibitions/detail/tania-bruguera/.
“Cuban Artists Show Up En Masse to Documenta, Bringing Their Plight at Home to the Wider Art World.” Artnet, 17 Jun. 2022, https://news.artnet.com/art-world/instar-documenta-15-2132472.
Gómez-Upegui, Salomé. “10 Cuban Artists Who Are Shaping Contemporary Art.” Artsy, 6 Jul. 2022, https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-10-cuban-artists-shaping-contemporary-art.
Helguera, Pablo. “Portfolio: The Art and Activism of Tania Bruguera.” Americas Quarterly, 15 Jul. 2016, https://www.americasquarterly.org/fulltextarticle/portfolio-the-art-and-activism-of-tania-bruguera/.
“Installation View: Instituto de Artivismo Hannah Arendt (INSTAR).” Contemporary & América Latina, Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, 6 Jul. 2022, https://amlatina.contemporaryand.com/pt/editorial/installation-view-instituto-de-artivismo-hannah-arendt-instar/.
“Instituto de Artivismo Hannah Arendt.” documenta fifteen, Jun. 2022, https://documenta-fifteen.de/en/lumbung-members-artists/instituto-de-artivismo-hannah-arendt/.
Mancoff, Debra N. “Hannah Arendt Institute of Artivism.” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tania-Bruguera.
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