Proxy Protest explores open source and DIY approaches to making protest accessible. Rooted in Disability Justice, Proxy Protest seeks to subvert everyday technologies – mobile phones / power banks / video calling softwares – in order to connect those at protests with people unable to be physically present in protest spaces, allowing protesters to become proxies for those connecting remotely.
The aim is to reimagine the relationship between power and presence, by creating a set of guides that allow individuals to create their own Proxy Protest tools requiring only 1x mobile phone, 1x phone case, 4x elastic bands and a scarf. Additionally proxy protestors can connect headphones or megaphones to their devices, and can facilitate the use of sign language, live subtitling and audio description depending on their choice of live streaming technology. A Guide to DIY Proxy Protest can be found at proxyprotest.com.
Proxy Protest has been through many iterations since its first conception in 2019 as part of Hito Steyerl’s Power Walks series at the Serpentine Gallery with Disabled People Against Cuts. More can be read about in the book Design and Disability.
