…Exploring the role of the prankster as artist, activist and social observer and the significance of the prank in society.
Traveling into or out of the United States (and want to be able to travel without the fear of deportation)? Show the authorities that your online activity from the past five years has been pre-screened and approved.
Print your customizable Social Media Compliance Certificate, by artist Joey Skaggs, and keep it with your passport and other important travel documents.
https://joeyskaggs.com/works/social-media-compliance-certificate/.
Emperor Trump only wants you to hear what he wants you to hear.
“State Department to deny visas to fact checkers and others, citing ‘censorship’,” by Shannon Bond, NPR, December 4, 2025.
The State Department is instructing its staff to reject visa applications from people who worked on fact-checking, content moderation or other activities the Trump administration considers “censorship” of Americans’ speech.
The directive, sent in an internal memo on Tuesday, is focused on applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, which are frequently used by tech companies, among other sectors. The memo was first reported by Reuters; NPR also obtained a copy.
“If you uncover evidence an applicant was responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States, you should pursue a finding that the applicant is ineligible” for a visa, the memo says. It refers to a policy announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May restricting visas from being issued to “foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans.” Read the whole article here.
Dancers protest Trump’s cultural appropriation.
“Protest Dance Outside Kennedy Center Targets Trump’s Attack on Culture,” by Emma Cieslik, Hyperallergic, November 24, 2025.
Dozens of workers have been terminated since the president took over the institution in February.
WASHINGTON, DC — On Saturday, November 22, protestors expanded and crunched their bodies, arms rising and falling with flicked wrists, as they marched in front of the Kennedy Center with stoic expressions. Passersby would be excused for mistaking it for an official performance, but the show outside the nation’s art center was actually a “dance protest” organized in response to President Trump’s rising authoritarianism.
While DC was buzzing with action across the city at the Remove the Regime march and fold-in event at the Lincoln Memorial, the Kennedy Center offered a powerful backdrop for resistance. Days before, the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works launched an investigation into cronyism and corruption at the Kennedy Center under the leadership of Richard Grenell, whom Trump appointed as the institution’s interim president in February. Read the whole article here.
Using the power of humor and satire to de-escalate confrontations.
“Why people are really wearing silly costumes at protests against Trump,” by The Conversation, AlterNet, October 24, 2025.
Three frogs, a shark, a unicorn and a Tyrannosaurus rex dance in front of a line of heavily armoured police in riot gear.
Over the past few weeks, activists taking part in protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) across the United States have donned inflatable animal costumes. The aim is to disrupt the Trump administration’s claim that the protests are violent “hate America” rallies.
The result is a sight to behold, with many encounters between police and protestors going viral.
Whether they know it or not, these costumed activists are contributing to a rich history of using humour and dress to mobilise against and challenge power. Read the whole article here.
The upcoming scrotum exhibition will probably be cancelled as well.
“School Nixes Exhibition Criticized by Turning Point USA,” by Isa Farfan, Hyperallergic, October 16, 2025.
The Fletcher Exhibit of political art was hosted at East Tennessee State University for 11 years until it came under attack from right-wing figures.
A long-running art exhibition of political artwork at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) was not invited to return to the school this year after a wave of right-wing backlash, including from a Tennessee chapter of Turning Point USA.
The Fletcher Exhibit of Social and Politically Engaged Art, held annually at ETSU’s Reece Museum since 2013, came under intense scrutiny from conservatives during and after the November 2024 presidential election. The show has been organized by the family of Fletcher Dyer, who was an art student at ETSU when he died in a tragic accident in 2009, for over a decade.