FEATURE STORY
GAME CHANGER:
Marvin Bing
After a hard-knock childhood, political activist and experience curator Marvin Bing
decided to channel his creativity through social change. Today, Bing is a leader of global
social movements for Arts for Amnesty including letter-writing campaigns, advocacy
projects and politically-charged art shows.
“We use the work of the organization as
a catalyst to engage the new generation of
activists to indulge in the work of human
rights around the world,” explained Bing.
As the National Director for Art for
Amnesty,
Bing
works
hand-in-hand
with artists, musicians, photographers,
filmmakers and cultural institutions who
support their work around human rights.
Bing has led hundreds of initiatives to
amplify the voices of unsung heroes. Most
notably, Eight-time Grammy award-winning
artist Usher recognized Bing for his creative
expertise and contacted him to create
an art experience around the release of
his interactive video (directed by Daniel
Arsham) for the politically charged record
“Chains” featuring Nas and Bibi Bourelly. The
video vividly profiled young police brutality
victims such as Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell
and Eric Garner to express dissatisfaction
with killings of men of color and to increase
awareness about injustice in America.
To meet Usher’s need for an innovative
way to represent the interactive video, Bing
curated Art for Social Justice in 11 days at
Donna Karen’s famed “Urban Zen” in New
York, which was well attended by luminaries
such as LA Reid, Michael Strahan, Rosie
Perez, Chaka Pilgrim, Abigail Disney and
more. The event drew thousands over two
days.
Similar to himself, Bing urges the next
generation of artists to use their unique
power to fuel new campaigns that bring
people together to promote change. He
encourages millennial artists to work on a
passion project to express their opinions
and amplify it by attaching it to a larger
organization. The game has been changed
by the platforms Bing has curated to amplify
the voices of unsung heroes. The legacy
of Arts for Amnesty continues with every
activation that Bing produces. And he’s only
getting started.
[CLICK TO WATCH] Usher - Chains ft. Nas, Bibi Bourelly
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