Steve Lambert

Steve Lambert, Center for Artistic Activism Co-Founder
Center for Artistic Activism Co-Founder, Steve Lambert
Steve Lambert

Artistic Director and Co-Founder

Steve’s father, a former Franciscan monk, and mother, an ex-Dominican nun, imbued the values of dedication, study, poverty, and service to others – qualities which prepared him for life as an artistic activist.

In the late 90’s he found himself in the San Francisco court system defending himself against illegal evictions that would have made him homeless, while at the same time trying to complete his art training. Since then he’s worked to mesh the practical, outcome-based world of activism with the aesthetics, emotion, and experimentation of the arts.

In 2008 Lambert, with the Yes Men, organized with hundreds of people on “The New York Times Special Edition,” a utopian version of the paper announcing the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other good news. In 2011 he built a 20 x 9 foot sign that reads CAPITALISM WORKS FOR ME!, that allows passers by to vote true or false, and has toured it across the United States, Europe, and Australia.

Lambert’s work has been shown both nationally and internationally, from art galleries to protest marches to Times Square, featured in four documentary films, and over two dozen books, and collected by museums and The Library of Congress. Lambert has presented at the United Nations several times. His research is included in a United Nations report on the impact of advertising on cultural rights and form the basis of a book analyzing popular understandings of capitalism. He was a Senior Fellow at New York’s Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology from 2006-2010, developed and led workshops for Creative Capital Foundation, and is currently Associate Professor of New Media at SUNY Purchase. Steve has advanced degrees from a reputable art school and respected state university. He dropped out of high school in 1993.

Steve Lambert co-founded the Center for Artistic Activism with Steve Duncombe in 2009.