Decentring the Genealogies of Art Activism

The main objective of this article is to call into question the critical purchase and universal validity of the vocabulary used in discussions on art activism. Through an examination of what Charles Mills calls ‘Ideal Theory’, I argue that a new lexicon for socially transformative creativity is all the more urgent. Such a new lexicon would help in articulating alternative genealogies and histories of radical aesthetics. The task of provincialising and historicising the genealogies of art arises as a crucial tool to challenge the increasing specialisation and institutionalisation of socially transformative creative practices. This article identifies in Rasheed Araeen’s conceptualisation of collaborative aesthetic as a strategic task a valuable alternative to this normalised use of a lexicon for art activism.