About

Documents of Resistance is an art/research/educational project that presents an intersectional view of art history through the art and activism of people of color. In this history there is no separation between politics and culture. Here protests organizing and studio time are seen as different means to achieve the same goal.

Only this way can we see the emergence of a truly American avant garde. Documents of Resistance aims to give form to this avant garde, by bringing together the collective struggle and individual transformation of artists and communities of color between 1960 to the present time.

Documents of Resistance Archive (DoRA) is a growing database and archive. Antonio Serna began the archive/database while researching alternative histories of artists of color as a member of Arts & Labor’s Alternative Economies Working Group around ~2012-2014. Originally, the database and archive were focused primarily on protest letters written by artists of color to New York City museums and cultural institutions in the 1960s/70s. 

The first public engagement of Documents of Resistance, July 5, 2014. Workshop held in conjunction with The Free University’s event “Subtleties of Resistance” at Kara Walker’s exhibition, A Subtlety or the Marvelous Sugar Baby, at the Domino Sugar Factory, Brooklyn, NY.

1st (2014)
Adhoc In-Situ Protests Workshop “Subtleties of Resistance” Free University at Kara Walker/Creative Time ‘A Subtlety or the Marvelous Sugar Baby’ With Antonio Serna and Emily Lai from Arts & Labor Alternative Economies Working Group and Amin Husain of Tidal: Occupy Theory, Occupy Strategy 1 and 2. Saturday, July 5, 2014

2nd Iteration (2014)
Workshop as part of Art in Odd Places | Free University’s ‘Horizontal Art and Action’ facilitated by Kenneth Petribono, including Antonio Serna and Leina Bocar of Artists, Workers of Color Initiative at Pedro Albizu Campos Center. October 11, 2014

3rd Iteration (2015)
‘Tough Love’ Documents of Resistance III Protest Letters Workshop at Smack Mellon with Antonio Serna and Leina Bocar | AWCi Artists and Workers of Color Initiative. February 14, 2015

4th Iterations (2015–2017)
Timeline Workshops, Antonio Serna | Documents of Resistance @Triangle Arts and at Interference Archives, with invited guests Todd Ayoung of RepoHistory (Darkmatter PDFs, NYU archive finding aid).

5th Iteration (2017–2018)
Our Oppressions Are Connected (mural) @Tufts University, Loisaida Center, & ArtCenter

6th Iteration (2017–2018)
Our Time, Timeline Presentation 60s, 70s, 80s @Loisaida Center

7th Iteration (2018)
Lloyd X Latimer // Our Oppressions are Connected (Tom Lloyd) + X Documents Series @Lewis Latimer House Museum

8th Iteration (2020)
Museum Workers Manifesto – Our Oppressions are Connected (Detroit’s Revolutionary Black Workers Movement) @PS122 Gallery (Part of Workers Residency of NYC Museum Workers Happy Hour & Cultural Workers Education Center)

9th Iteration (2020)
Archive in Exile • PS122 Studios New York, NY (Online)
Our Oppressions are Connected (TWLF: SFSC + UC Berkeley)

10th Iteration (2024)
Moving Forward Together (Solo Exhibition + Documents of Resistance Archive)
Presa House Gallery, San Antonio, TX

11th Iteration (2026)
Arte y Archivos ~ Art & Archives, Documents of Resistance Archive (DoRA)
Pop-Up archive in various locations.

The Documents of Resistance Archive (DoRA) currently holds over 1,000 items, of which only 12% have been archived and only 2% are available online. Institutions and researchers may inquire about accessing or donating resources to support the archive’s continuation.