Can art change the world?
That was the question Columbia University asked Columbia Global Senior Advisor Vishakha Desai in a Jun 28, 2026 interview about Politics of Visual Arts in a Changing World, 2014-2024.
Edited by Desai, and apanning themes of protest art, museum ethics, restitution, and institutional transformation, the book considers how visual arts have both responded to and shaped politics and society. Contributors highlight the role of artists as catalysts for change, and delve into how institutions grapple with their colonial pasts.
Featuring essays, case studies, and artist spotlights, the book not only documents a critical time in the art world, but also raises questions about its future. In the current moment of global unrest and threats to the future of art institutions, Desai offers insight into art’s place in the politics of representation, memory, and resistance.
