‘Where is the new constitution?’ Activist art and the politics of space in Iceland

Abstract

In 2008, Iceland experienced one of the largest banking crashes in history. Protests against the government emerged, and as a response the country set in motion a process to rewrite its constitution. In 2011 the world’s first ‘crowdsourced constitution’ was presented to Parliament, following which two-thirds of voters in a national referendum said “yes” to the document being the basis for the Constitution of Iceland. Despite this, successive governments have repeatedly failed to implement constitutional reform. In this context, grassroots activists have campaigned to keep the issue of the new constitution alive, including through an artistic campaign. This article is the first study of this art and consideration of how Iceland’s political struggles have played out in space. Applying Duncombe’s methodology of affective effect, we present an evidence-based case of art achieving quantifiable goals, suggesting broader social change. Given that policies pursued by the government have changed the nature and use of space in the country, activist art is shown to have a significant capacity to reinvigorate the democratic functions of space, with effects that can be observed both within and without political institutions.