Jeremy Deller designs protest flag for 14 American art institutions

Artist Jeremy Deller has designed a flag that reads “Don’t worry be angry” as part of public artwork series Pledges of Allegiance. The project, which is produced by New York-based organisation Creative Time, will see Deller’s flag raised at 14 arts institutions around the US from New York to Texas to Florida.

Creative Time conceived the project in response to the political climate of Trump’s America, commissioning 16 artists to respond to an issue or cause that they were passionate about. Deller is the tenth artist in a roster that includes Yoko Ono, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Alex Da Corte, Trevor Pagan and Nari Ward.

Creative Time artistic director Nato Thompson says, “We realised we needed a space to resist that was defined not in opposition to a symbol, but in support of one, and so we created a permanent space. The flag seemed an ideal form to build that space around both practically and symbolically.”

A film released by Creative Time to promote the project features Deller’s flag flying from the Creative Time headquarters soundtracked to soundbites from President Trump, National Rifle Association advocates and student activists from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were shot dead and 14 more were injured last month.

Of the design, Deller said, “I hope it’s pretty self-explanatory.”