Writing Your Manifesto

Creating a manifesto as a contemporary artist is a bold declaration of your vision, principles, and challenges to the status quo. Drawing on the revolutionary spirits of Dada, Surrealism, Futurism, Fluxus, and Situationism, this guideline will help you craft a manifesto that captures your unique voice while engaging with these influential traditions. Writing your manifesto is an act of self-definition and public declaration. It reflects where you stand now and the projects you intend to pursue. Let it be as fluid and evolving as your practice, your manifesto should always be revisited as your vision and your practice transforms.

Understand the Tradition

Immerse yourself in the manifestos of movements like Dada, Surrealism, Futurism, Fluxus, and Situationism. Note their tone, structure, and provocative language:

  • Dada: Embrace absurdity, challenge reason, and critique culture.

  • Surrealism: Explore the unconscious using poetic and dream-like imagery.

  • Futurism: Exalt technology, speed, and the new; reject the past.

  • Fluxus: Value play, anti-art, and simplicity.

  • Situationism: Critique consumerism and reclaim public space for radical creativity.

Strategies for Manifesto Writing

Automatic Writing

  • Set a timer for 15-20 minutes and write without stopping or censoring yourself. Let your stream of consciousness reveal what’s beneath the surface. Focus on your beliefs about art, society, and your place in it. Later, revisit and highlight phrases or ideas that resonate most strongly with your vision.

Associative Writing

  • Begin with a central idea or theme related to your practice (e.g., "disruption," "identity," "transformation") and write associations or related concepts around it. Let these ideas flow into poetic or narrative statements that form the backbone of your manifesto.

Historicity

  • Anchor your manifesto in the broader historical context. Reference movements or artists that align with or oppose your perspective. Use your manifesto as a dialogue with the past: agree, reject, or remix ideas from historical manifestos to create a bridge to your current practice.

Self-Interview

  • Interview with yourself, asking provocative questions such as:

    • What do you fight against in the art world?

    • What do you stand for?

    • How does your art challenge norms or conventions?

  • Use your responses to shape the core statements of your manifesto.

Sample Writing Prompts

  • “Art must ____ to survive in this era of ____.”

  • “I create because ____ is not enough.”

  • “In the face of ____, my work stands as ____.”

  • “The future of art will ____ or it will perish.”

The Artist's Own Trajectory

  • Reflect on your personal journey as an artist. Identify pivotal moments, challenges, and successes that have shaped your philosophy. Integrate statements that reflect your unique experiences and how they inform your creative goals.

Using Your CV as a Blueprint

  • Examine your CV and make notes on your major projects, residencies, collaborations, and exhibitions. Ask yourself:

    • What recurring themes or motivations appear in your work?

    • How have your past projects contributed to your current artistic stance?

  • Transform these insights into bold declarations. For example, “From [Project], I learned [insight]; therefore, I declare [statement].”

Structure and Form

Opening Provocation

  • Start with a robust and attention-grabbing statement that embodies the essence of your manifesto. This could be an urgent call to action or a striking critique of current norms.

Core Beliefs and Declarations

  • List your fundamental beliefs about art, creativity, society, and practice. Use bold, decisive language and short, punchy sentences to maintain impact.

Integrate Contradictions

  • Embrace the complex, multifaceted nature of contemporary art. Make room for contradictions or paradoxes that mirror the intricacies of your own perspective.

Use Poetic and Associative Language

  • Infuse your manifesto with the lyrical and symbolic language of Surrealism and Dada. Let unexpected juxtapositions and metaphors expand the meaning of your statements.

Editing and Refinement

Collaborative Feedback

  • Share drafts of your manifesto with trusted peers or mentors for feedback. Reading your manifesto aloud can also reveal areas that need tightening or more emphasis.

Refinement Through Subtraction

  • Strip away superfluous or repetitive language to distill your manifesto to its most potent essence. Each word should carry weight and purpose.

Presentation and Performance

  • Consider how you will share your manifesto. Will it be a text on your website, a recorded video, or performed live? Engage with mediums that best reflect your artistic ethos.

*Disclaimer: These texts are a point of view, they are meant to inspire and guide you as a departure point for your professionalization, or perhaps a stepping stone to keep you on a critical stance and liberate your creativity. As an artist and educator, I try to approach art matters with care, openness and curiosity, feel free to send me a message if you find mistakes, misconceptions or milestones.