People protest against injustice in all kinds of ways – through marching, writing, composing songs, downing tools, and occasionally even through threats of violence. Art can be a powerful voice of protest against a political system, and a way of influencing people’s thoughts and opinions. 

Art has sometimes been described as a “mirror which reflects society back to itself”, and artists who feel strongly enough will confront society with its injustices, through their images. In the 1960s
and 1970s in South Africa, many artists were persecuted by the apartheid government for creating images that drew attention to the injustices of that oppressive system. Some artists and photographers faced charges in court – and in some cases served jail terms – because they made images that challenged those in authority. Many works of art, literature and music were officially censored or banned during that time. 

In 1979, at a conference of artists and art historians called “State of the Art” in Cape Town, a resolution was proposed that art-making be consciously used towards bringing about political change. It was around that time that “resistance art” became the term artists used to talk about their practice in the fight against apartheid.