Capitalism Is Over! If You Want It is an ongoing movement of interruptions/actions by artists from around the world in response to the need for a fundamental shift in our approach to Capitalism and the negative impact it has on the environment, health, and wellbeing of all. The status quo is not sustainable. The title of the project references John and Yoko’s “War is Over if You Want It” campaign of the late ’60’s – in the spirit that capitalism is our war of today. The title also reflects how these phenomena are based in our minds and rely on our buy-in to function. Capitalism is not a law of nature. Humans created the system, it no longer works for the majority of the world, and it can be replaced.

Through Capitalism Is Over! If You Want It our goal is to support and enact alternatives to Capitalism through creative channels. While making art in response to this runaway greed may seem an act of indulgence in itself, we as cultural workers are part of the community interrogating, creating and representing cultural shifts. At the very least we hope to leverage our creative capital to inspire constructive panalogue, network with others committed to the cause, and perhaps provide some fun and runaway thinking.

We launched the movement on July 18, 2010 and to date over 100 artists and arts spaces have staged actions/performances in support of finding an alternative to the current Capitalist model. It has been inspiring and encouraging to be a part of the global revolution that has developed over the past year through the Arab Spring and Occupy Movements and watch as we are growing and gaining momentum and ultimately will manifest in long-term changes to the current status quo.

The organizers of CIO! are Megan Wilson, Eliza Barrios*, Cheryl Meeker, Amy Berk, Maw Shein Win, and Andy Cox.

*no longer active with the project