Additional information
by Sarah Sparkles (Author)
Parades, Parties, and Protests is a bold tribute to the creative resistance culture of the 21st century. In the wake of the catastrophic 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration, and the Iraq War, resilient visionary subcultures rose from the ashes to spark the largest, most creative protest movement in history. This photo-journalistic account reveals a decade-long exploration of public processions in New York City, war protests, multimedia events that combined art and activism, all-night dance parties in warehouses, and pilgrimages to festivals in remote parts of the country. At a time when many alternative voices were shut out of the mass media and with civil liberties increasingly under fire, these grassroots events became a driving force in disseminating information and cultivating an uplifting and transformative culture. In the face of adversity, millions of people from around the world came together, daring to create the world they dreamed to live in. This is their story.
Author Biography
Sarah Sparkles is an interdisciplinary artist whose passions include photography, writing, teaching, jewelry design, accessories, costumes, prop building, installation art, and dance. Sarah graduated Magna Cum Laude from Purchase College in 2004 with a degree in Media, Society, and the Arts, and received the Mike McNickle Journalism Award for investigative reporting. Born and raised in New York, Sarah's love of expressive adornment, alternative communities and dance music inspired her to spend over a decade deeply immersed in NYC's underground nightlife subcultures. During this time, she documented some of the party scene's most exuberant exploits as well as the visual art of the post-9/11 anti-war protest movements. Sarah became intensely driven by a desire to help this under-represented transformative arts movement make its mark on history. The result is this book. 12 years in the making, Parades, Parties, and Protests is a bold tribute to the creative resistance culture of the 21st century.
