Generation 00

Abstract Looking mainly at art produced during the two decades between 2000 and today, this article examines artists and their work during the years preceding and following the uprisings in Tunisia and the Arab world, as well as other cultural and social movements. By looking at a generation of artists who produced works of art that actively raised awareness about cultural, social, political, and ecological realities, this article elaborates on histories that contribute to clarifying the present moment. Many of the artists developed projects and shared ideas that became part of movements that led to the acceleration of protest and calls for change in a large geographical region, spanning Morocco to Iran and Syria to Sudan. A decade of initiatives by artists and activists preceded what has been variously called revolutions of the Arab World or the Arab Spring. I call these cultural workers Generation 00, a label that not only references the first decade of the 2000s but also signals the radical rupture of this generation from those before it. This group of artists and intellectuals, living on every continent and operating at the same time in diverse social and political contexts, share the desire to bear witness to and act for change and social justice. They, like other citizens, receive the same global information and observe parallel issues in their immediate environments.