Creative and performing art can be powerful tools for resistance, challenging authority, questioning norms, and inspiring action. Artists often employ powerful symbols to convey their message, making their art readily understood by the public. 

The history of art in resistance, also known as "protest art," spans centuries, with artists utilizing their work to challenge oppressive regimes, social injustices, and political power structures, often through mediums like painting, sculpture, graphic design, and performance art, with notable examples from ancient Egypt, the French Revolution, the Civil Rights Movement, and the anti-Apartheid struggle in South Africa; key themes include criticizing ruling classes, advocating for human rights, and sparking social change through powerful imagery and commentary.

Artists often employ powerful symbols to convey their message, making their art readily understood by the public. Resistance art can be used to mobilize communities and galvanize support for a cause. Some artists deliberately provoke controversy by challenging established power structures through their art.