Overpass Light Brigade invited artist and activist Brian Carlson to tell us about his project to repatriate the memory of Argentina’s “Los Desaparecidos” through his skillful portrait painting. What follows is his account of this stunning project that merges memory, archive and social justice… Since the seventies, US administrations have supported the overthrow of democratically … Continue reading Reappearing the Disappeared
Driving up highway 13 the other night, just north of Washburn, WI, you might have seen a strange sight if you looked through the willow and dogwood and cattails and reeds towards the beach. Weird lighted letters were dancing down the coast, lining up on the sand bar where the Sioux River cuts into the … Continue reading Water People Unite: Reflections on Ice
Republicans in Wisconsin reintroduced a law that was defeated last year by a popular uprising called the #DayWithoutLatinos. The legislation would deputize public employees, local police, and sheriffs to act as immigration agents: This hateful legislation is a retread of what our community defeated last year. This bill aims to turn local government employees and … Continue reading Light for Wisconsin’s Immigrant Community
Overpass Light Brigade invited Margaret Noodin, an Anishinaabe poet, to write a piece about the struggle at Standing Rock for this blog. This is what she has to say: This poem was written in the midst of the historic show of support for land, water and indigenous life and culture. We all need to raise our … Continue reading The Long Knives and the Seven Fires
“We Are Water” in multiple languages, as expressed in this new video collaboration between Minnesota filmmaker Dusan Harminc and the Overpass Light Brigade. We’ve been shooting this for the last month in various locations throughout Wisconsin, and hope to highlight the power and beauty of the natural environment. Think of it as a “love song to … Continue reading Overpass Light Brigade Releases Newest Movie, “We Are Water”
Guest blog written by: Alyce Santoro The Marfa Mystery Lights are a world-renowned phenomena that occasionally appear as glowing orbs in the remote grasslands of far West Texas, not far from the US/Mexico border, the Big Bend National Park, and the town of Marfa, known as the location for the 1956 film “Giant” and as an enclave … Continue reading Save the Marfa Mystery Lights
You turn on your tap and orange colored rusty crud comes out. It smells bad and tastes worse. You’ve been told not to drink it, not to bathe in it, not to wash dishes in it, yet there are few alternatives. Worse, you now understand that it is laced with lead, leached from pipes due to … Continue reading Detroit Light Brigade & the “Arrest Snyder Road Trip”
Illumination Against Gentrification. Photo by Patrick Chang. In Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox For Revolution, the tactic “Light Brigading” is described “To broadcast a message through collective action; to frame nighttime actions with a key message; to make creative use of overlooked public spaces.” The end of 2015 brings us an inspirational collaborative project: “Illumination Against … Continue reading Community Building Through Light Brigading
We gathered on a hill overlooking the city of Milwaukee, a crowd in the park below leaving a lovely summer music event. A woman’s voice called out, “Say her name!” and the women who held the letters chanted “Tanisha Anderson, Rekia Boyd, Sandra Bland, Shelly Frey, Kayla Moore, Alberta Spruill, Michelle Cusseux, Shantel Davis, Alesia … Continue reading Illuminated Hashtag #SayHerName Beamed Over Milwaukee Skyline Music Series
Is anyone you love a hashtag tonight? Sadly, there are so many names to say. Sandra Bland was going to work, at a new job, and ended up another victim of internal domestic terrorism. #SayHerName and bear witness. Read more about Sandra Bland here. #BlackLivesMatter