Creative Activism - The Art of the Prank

February 28, 2025

Happy 55th Anniversary Earlville Opera House!

Plaque on the wall at the Earlville Opera House, Earlville, New York:

“With Perpetual Gratitude, We Thank Artist, Activist & Cultural Visionary, Joey Skaggs for Saving the Earlville Opera House from Demolition in 1970…”

From the Vault:

55 years ago, Joey Skaggs came upon a derelict opera house in Earlville, New York destined to be torn down and turned into a parking lot. He bought it and donated it to a community group to insure that it would be used as a performing arts center in perpetuity. Check out the 6 minute film about this from the Oral History series “Joey Skaggs Satire and Art Activism”.

A Sign of the Times

The writing’s on the wall and the bus stop…

The Street Artist Behind the Viral “Anti-Elon Musk” Ads, by Rhea Nayyar, Hyperallergic, February 24, 2025

Winston Tseng’s satirical ad falsely attributed to USAID at a bike dock in Washington, DC, elicited frenzied responses from Republican Senator Thom Tillis.

Street artist Winston Tseng was behind an anti-Elon Musk ad that led to a viral frenzy when it was installed in various sidewalk ad spaces within a mile of the White House two weeks ago. The ad, satirically attributed to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), read “Help Eliminate Elon” and featured a large red X crossing over an illustration of Musk doing the Nazi salute.

“In the spirit of transparency, I should disclose that USAID paid me $69M (in condoms) for this ad,” Tseng said in an email to Hyperallergic, riffing on Musk’s misunderstanding of the US’s provisions for international HIV prevention and treatment.

February 2025 Film Festival Screenings for Joey Skaggs Oral History Films

Check out these upcoming film festival screenings in February 2025.
More information is here

Dam Short Film Festival
“Joey Skaggs: Stop BioPEEP” (20:20)
Thursday, February 13, 2025 at 10:00 am
Boulder City, NV
Documentary B Section
Tickets: https://bit.ly/DamFilmFest
&
New Delhi Film Festival
“Joey Skaggs: The Solomon Project” (16:22)
Saturday, February 22, 2025 from 2:00pm – 9:00 pm
New Delhi, India
India International Centre
Tickets: TBA

December 19, 2024December 19, 2024

Ho Ho Ho! Santa’s Missile Tow

This film excerpt of Joey Skaggs as Santa Claus pedaling his “Santa’s Missile Tow” mobile rocket launcher to the United Nations in New York City is from Art of the Prank, Andrea Marini’s feature documentary about artist Joey Skaggs. The film is available on Amazon Prime, Peacock, YouTube and other streaming services.

December 13, 2024

Hyperallergic Revisits Joey Skaggs “Vietnamese Christmas Nativity Burning” (1968)

Peace on Earth? Not everywhere. 56 years later, and there’s still no merry Christmas in war.

Emma Cieslik covers artists’ renditions of the Nativity throughout history for Hyperallergic in “Nativity Scenes Have Never Been Neutral,” including Joey Skaggs’ “Vietnamese Christmas Nativity Burning” in 1968.