Creativity has been key to exposing and resisting the violence of the welfare state – as a political strategy to show the scale of harm, hold the government to account, and to name and remember those who have died. This year, our Deaths by Welfare Project has been working with four artists to respond to our timeline charting 50 years of deaths linked to welfare reform and the sustained resistance by disabled people and families impacted by deaths. We are incredibly grateful to share some of their works below.
content warning: names of people killed by welfare state violence, illustrations of people in distress, mentions of racial profiling by civil servants.
The way that no recourse to public funds operates is through its ambiguity. The same policy could be perceived completely differently depending on who is perceiving it.
This ambiguity only further aggravates the intersectional struggle of those accessing welfare. Half Glass unpacks three snapshots of ambiguity around the words “no recourse to public funds” across different periods of time. It delves into archival documents and personal reflections, unveiling how the control of the image of welfare and immigration policy was crafted over time.
Exploring personal healing and movement building through hip hop artist Lowkey’s music.
Explore the the Deaths by Welfare Project timeline, podcasts, resources, and videos. Together we are transforming our understanding of welfare state violence.