Visual Dissent and Democratic Expansion: The Role of Street Art in Chile’s Anti-Dictatorial Social Movement

The role of art in the formation and success of social movements has been a relatively understudied field, especially in dictatorial contexts. Drawing from social constructivist ideas within social movement theory, this paper aims to complement the growing literature through analysis of a street art performance that unfolded in 1983, during Chile’s military dictatorship. I engage in visual discourse analysis to investigate No+ by Colectivo de Acciones de Arte (Art Action Collective, CADA) and its role in Chile’s anti-Pinochet resistance movement. This art action is integral in the movement’s identity formation, multiple framing strategies of contestation and reclamation, and mobilizing efforts. Furthermore, this art action performed meaningful democratic expansions within a repressive authoritarian rule and invites us to expand our notions on the relationship between politics and art.