With How Can You Resist?, LA Freewaves wanted to engage with the public’s growing skepticism about commercial media and create a consensus for change beyond the outcome of the 2004 presidential election. We expanded our reach to include artists from Latin America, Southeast Asia, Africa, China and the Middle East, with the knowledge that resistance has many incarnations. Some of the works took us on intimate journeys through addiction, sexuality, and suffering, while others challenged us to consider such politically charged issues as security, paranoia, and moral culpability in a time of war.
Although the programming for How Can You Resist? was international, the viewing venues were concentrated in downtown Los Angeles, unlike previous years when we spread out across the region. Our intent was to celebrate this globally diverse neighborhood, and to connect conversations about local gentrification and transformations with larger discussions of American cultural impact.
Freewaves is currently deepening and reorganizing our archive of 35 years of public art in Los Angeles. Check back in 2025 to explore more of our history.
