The Art and Visual Anthropology (AVA) section of the FocaalBlog is a conceptual and discursive space in which artists, anthropologists, and art scholars are invited to reflect on how films and images can be used for social analysis and political struggle, as well as on broader debates on economic and social change. The AVA blog aims to restore the political legacy of ethnographic practices in visual production and to explore the centrality of films and images in catalyzing political consciousness.

Reflecting a critical engagement with artists’ work, popular culture, and labor politics, AVA will have three sections: Platforms (discussions with filmmakers and artists), Close-Ups (discussions of visual and sound clips), and Fieldworks (discussions on the intersections of activism and film).