Make yourself heard: we take a look at the creative projects encouraging people to vote

Let’s get the most important part of this article out of the way first. If you haven’t registered to vote yet, you only have until 11.59pm tonight (26 November) to do it. Go on, click on this link, and register. Do it now, it will take less than five minutes. OK, so now that’s done, we wanted to share with you some of our favourite creative responses to the election. From Black Mirror-style ad campaigns to a series of illustrated skate stickers, here are some of the most interesting projects encouraging us all to vote.

Fake Views by Operation Black Vote, David Allain and Saatchi & Saatchi

Masterminded by Operation Black Vote and Saatchi & Saatchi, and directed by David Allain, Fake Views is pretty terrifying ad campaign that puts controversial – but real – words that have been said by politicians into the mouths of normal young people. Featuring racist and sexist comments, plus some seriously whack views about the environment, the film features Game of Thrones star Nathalie Emmanuel as well as Novara journalist Ash Sarkar and hip-hop artist Nadia Rose. Part way through the ad, the footage starts to glitch revealing the real life politicians behind the gross opinions.

OBV co-founder Ashok Viswanathan says about the project: “If we want our politics to look like us, talk like us and come from where we come from; we need to use our voice and our vote. Magnus Djaba, Saatchi & Saatchi global president, adds: “If [young people] are not registered, and so cannot vote, they will be letting voters and politicians whose views and beliefs they may disagree with, speak on their behalf. Our work shows this by placing abhorrent quotes from real UK politicians in the mouths of young Britons that would and could never say those things.”

Creativity 4 Change by Polly Nor and Polyester Zine

Set up my illustrator Polly Nor and the team behind Polyester magazine, Creativity 4 Change is an Instagram account documenting the huge outpouring of illustrative works made to inspire people to vote. Describing itself as a collective of artists “looking to inspire change through creativity”, the platform features work from the likes of Sophie Koko Gate, Hattie Stewart, Sonny Flynn and ceramicist Eliza Hopewell. “We want to bring together our community to spread the word, encourage people to register to vote, and to vote Labour in the upcoming UK general election,” the collective says.

Vote or Die by Vote For Climate Or Die

Based in London, Vote for Climate or Die is a creative collective that has been mobilising people to vote around one issue: climate change. Ahead of the election they commissioned illustrators Felicity Marshall, Martin Fuerst, Inga Ingūna Ziemele, Natrah Barragry, Liane Plant and Marie Err to create a series of skateboard stickers themed on climate destruction. “Stickers are the new placards,” says creative lead and copywriter Lisa Berenson. “We think that even small works of public art have the power to drive change. Whether they appear on the back of a skate deck, a laptop, or on Instagram.” Vote for Climate or Die then distributed the stickers for free in skate shops and parks in the ten UK cities with the lowest voter registration, in the hope it would encourager skaters to vote. “There’s no skateboarding on a dead planet,” adds Lisa. “The inspiration for this project obviously started with the old ‘Skate or Die’ slogan. But we were also inspired how classic skate artists depict dark and provocative images in a way that’s full of humour, creativity and life.”

The World is (Y)Ours by Tanya Noushka and Pocc

Also playing to young people’s passion for the environment, short documentary The World is (Y)Ours looks at climate change from the perspective of people of colour in the UK. Directed by Tanya Noushka and People of Culture Creative, a members’ collective and community of like-minded people working to accelerate equality in the creative industry, the film interviews five young people, including chef Michael Makonnen and Rhythm Section founder and DJ Bradley Zero. Each person is interviewed about their heritage and how their ancestral home countries have been effected by climate change, to show how actions in the West have a direct effect on those in the Global South. “In addition, black and minority ethnic communities living in Western countries are more likely to be adversely affected by the negative effects of climate change ahead of any other group,” POCC adds. “How can we rise up and make sure we have our say this year?” The first step is to register to vote, which you can do below.