dan s. wang

artist and writer

The events that came to be known as the Wisconsin Uprising were noted as the most important American labor insurgency in decades. The unrest centered in Madison, Wisconsin, was the most intense activity in a wave of labor protests that swept through the Midwest in the late winter of 2011, which were themselves part of that year’s global tide of popular insurrections, beginning with the Tunisian Revolution in January, sparking the historic Arab Spring, and continuing through to Occupy Wall Street in September.

As a resident of Madison at the time I was witness to the unfolding drama. Along with tens of thousands of others I took part in the twice-daily mass demonstrations that ran for several weeks, fueled by a citizens’ occupation of the capitol. I blogged reports on events as they happened, and co-authored an analysis that was later included in the book We Are Wisconsin. In September, I spoke about the Uprising at the Third Creative Time Summit in New York just as Occupy Wall Street escalated, gaining national significance. Shortly afterward I authored an analysis for Transversal webzine.

Wisconsin’s Lost Strike Moment, co-authored with Nicolas Lampert

From One Moment to the Next, Wisconsin to Wall Street for Transversal

WI Uprising at Year One blog post