INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS & RELATED ARTICLES
Dazed SEPTEMBER 12, 2021 - by Thom Waite
MARKING 20 YEARS OF STOP THE WAR WITH BANKSY, VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, AND MORE
Previously-unreleased music by Brian Eno also features in a new anniversary show, alongside artwork by Ben Eine, kennardphillipps, David Gentleman, and more
This weekend, a series of events and exhibitions have taken place across New York City to commemorate the almost 3,000 lives lost during the 9/11 World Trade Centre attacks of 2001. At the same time, however, the 20 year anniversary - which falls shortly after the controversial withdrawal of US and UK troops from Afghanistan - places a spotlight on the invasion launched by George W. Bush in retaliation, and the long shadow cast by the so-called War on Terror.
Between the joint US and UK assault in October 2001, and the recent withdrawal of their military presence, which has seen the Taliban seize power over Kabul two decades later, an estimated 241,000 people have been killed in the Afghanistan and Pakistan warzone. According to Brown University's "Costs of War" study, more than 71,000 of these deaths have been labelled civilian casualties: the result of crossfire, bombings, ground raids, and airstrikes.
Founded in the weeks following 9/11, the Stop the War Coalition has dedicated itself to ending conflict in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Palestine, and elsewhere, putting pressure on the British establishment. The organisation has helped lead some of the largest protests ever held in Britain, including the 2003 demonstrations against the Iraq War and the 2013 protests against David Cameron's bid for military strikes in Syria.
A new exhibition at East London's Nunnery Gallery, 20 Years of Stop the War: A Visual Retrospective, highlights these mass acts of anti-war opposition. Importantly, it also traces the role that artists have played in the movement since 2001, including work from a diverse mix of street artists, musicians, fashion designers, and photographers that have "been on the front line from the beginning".
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