What is Agitprop? A combination of the words agitation and propaganda, agitprop emerged as a term for a politically engaged mode of art making during the Russian Revolution. Agitprop is a call to action. Agitprop artists sought mediums that can be widely reproduced and disseminated, reaching beyond galleries and museums in order to activate a larger public. 

Valentina Kulagina, a leading figure in postrevolutionary poster design, exemplifies agitprop in her 1931 poster commemorating International Working Women’s Day. Kulagina calls our attention to women’s continuing struggle for equality as they entered the workforce without relief from their “second shift” of traditional domestic duties. Agitprop artists have looked to photography and film, prints and banners, street actions and songs, and now digital videos, digital files and social media web platforms—to motivate broad and diverse public engagement in social issues. Agitprop! connects contemporary art devoted to social change with historic moments in creative activism. 

Stay tuned for more Agitprop! and see it December 11. We hope it calls you to action. 

Posted by Laura Hillegas
Valentina Kulagina (Russian, 1902–1987). International Working Women’s Day Is the Fighting Day of the Proletariat, 1931. © 2015 Estate of Valentina Kulagina / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. (Photo: Joelle Jensen)