Brandalism in Brussels to Protest TTIP-CETA Free Trade Deals
01 Nov 2016
Brandalism In Brussels To Protest TTIP-CITA Free Trade Deals
Over 80 artworks were installed in bus stop advertising spaces in Brussels this morning ahead of mass protests expected this week against the CETA and TTIP free trade deals.
The artist collective responsible for the action ‘Brandwashing’ was inspired by a similar ‘Brandalism’ project during United Nations COP21 climate talks in 2015 in Paris. ‘Brandwashing’ aim to hightlight the links between advertising, corporate lobbying and the power of multinationals.
The artworks were created by more than 20 Belgian and international artists – including advertising agency workers from the UK. The posters target brands such as McDonalds, Chevron, Texaco, are a combination of drawings, photos, paintings and montages, aiming to shine a light on the actors pulling the strings behind free trade deals like CETA and TTIP: corporate lobbyists, governments and the European Commission.
Brussels-based artist Jean-Pierre said:
“We have taken over these corporate advertising spaces to shine a spotlight on the impacts of the CETA and TTIP free trade deals – which will increase the power of multinational corporations at the expense of the environment, public services, workers rights and democracy.”
“In Brussels, the capital of European lobbying, we see big business using their financial power to manufacture political consent in the European Commission. At the same time, they use advertising spaces to manufacture public consent for their abuses. We expect to see many more actions against the lobbyists this week.”
A Selection of the anti-TTIP artworks:
To see more anti-TTIP subvertising from Brandwashing, visit their blog here