Power of Protest (POP)

Power of Protest (POP) is an exhibition of creatives speaking from and to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), exploring the transformative power of media in giving protest form, function and impact. The medium must adapt and change, in order for a message to reach its intended audience—this is where creativity lies. Visionaries have been using media for centuries to amplify the voices of dissent in their communities. The medium may range from traditional print forms such as caricatures or posters, to broadcast media via radio and television, all of which can be mediated by censors. Orality and the spoken word, through poetry or chants, may be the most powerful medium with no mediation between speaker and audience. The internet has undoubtedly revolutionized the parameters for debate and the methods by which people can propose, challenge or affirm new perspectives.

The message may call for greater access, visibility, representation and equality for communities. It may call for a re-drawing of boundaries of ownership and a re-naming of territories and terminologies. In POP discover four discussions about powerful media and consider YOUR relationship to protest.

POP takes up a discussion on dissent that started in spring 2020 when The Media Majlis opened the exhibition From Visionaries to Vloggers: Media Revolutions in the Middle East. This discussion was paused briefly by the COVID-19 pandemic, when the museum closed its doors in March 2020.