artwashing means the use of art and artists in a positive way to distract from or legitimize negative actions by an individual, organization, country, or government, originally in reference to gentrification. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 100 out of 100.
Why “artwashing” is a great word
ARTWASHING — [Noun] The strategic use of art and cultural initiatives to distract from, obscure, or lend a positive social veneer to negative actions, particularly within urban development and corporate strategy. From art + -wash (suffix forming verbs meaning to use something to conceal or improve a reputation, as in 'greenwash') + -ing (suffix forming nouns). Analogy to 'greenwashing'; first emerged in critical discourse in the early 2010s. Unlike "patronage," which implies a supportive, often disinterested relationship with artists, or "arts-led regeneration," a more neutral descriptor for redevelopment, artwashing specifically denotes a cynical transaction where creativity is employed as a strategic smokescreen. It is the pop-up gallery in a soon-to-be-demolished housing block, the corporate plaza's massive, meaningless sculpture, and the street festival sponsored by the landlord raising the rents—a hollow aestheticization that asks you to admire the paint while ignoring the displacement it glosses over.
Etymology
From art + -wash + -ing.
noun
- The use of art and artists in a positive way to distract from or legitimize negative actions by an individual, organization, country, or government, originally in reference to gentrification.“When a commercial project is subjected to artwashing, the work and presence of artists and creative workers is used to add a cursory sheen to a place's transformation.”