Art, Culture, and Revolutionary Optimism

An underlying theme behind this project is to use art as a tool in the struggle to build and imagine a new world, and overcome the cultural and economic hegemony of imperialism. This project supports the understanding that a new world is possible — and in order to build that world, we must build people power; and we cannot build power without building culture.

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Guided by the revolutionary cultural theories of Amílcar Cabral, who reminded us that national liberation is an act of cultural reclamation; Claudia Jones, who saw black liberation as as central to the fight for socialism; Antonio Gramsci, who emphasized the role of cultural hegemony and the need to build counter-hegemonic interventions; Paulo Freire, who championed popular education as a path to collective liberation; and Paul Robeson, who lived the unity of art, struggle, and people — this work hopes to make a small contribution to a culture of revolutionary optimism: art that tells us, without a doubt, that a new socialist world is coming.

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Color Collective Press is a project in its early stages ranging from art production, poster prints, and pocketbooks to revolutionary theory, and popular education materials for the people. There's no public physical location yet, but if there is enough support, it may be possible to open a small space in the future.

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Proceeds from the Color Collective Press patreon and print shop go towards building and expanding Abolition Notes, the Books for the People program, and toward the basic costs of equipment, repairs, supplies, rent, labor, etc. and hopefully new additions in the longer term :)

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Abolition Notes is a slowly evolving project focused on making revolutionary theory, people's history, and popular education materials accessible online. In addition to accessible online material and guides, abolition notes also offers downloadable and printable zine library as well as poster library.

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Books for the People is another arm of this project focused on getting free physical prints into the hands of comrades, both as individuals and/or as orgs/study groups, in a mutual aid effort to lessen financial burdens, make the materials accessible, and more generally support political education journey. (See the Book Fund Request Form)

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From the artwork to the edu materials, hopefully some part of this project inspires you and/or brought you something valuable. Thanks for taking the time to reading this and for supporting this project both in and outside of patreon!