Our objectives
Hive Mind Speaks is a civic arts organisation using guerrilla art and participatory democracy to give people a real say in the decisions that shape their lives.
We help everyday citizens across the UK, especially those who feel politically unheard or disengaged to participate directly in major public issues through creative, accessible and high-impact engagement campaigns.
We do this by:
- Staging bold, provocative artistic interventions in public spaces to draw attention to critical issues (inspired by the likes of Banksy, Ai Weiwei, and Led by Donkeys)
- Hosting deliberative participatory democracy forums such as Citizens’ Assemblies and Juries to allow people to explore the issues in depth
- Holding national referendums to test public opinion and give people a meaningful say
Our model offers an alternative to top-down, MP-led decision-making by combining artistic disruption with civic integrity.
We’ve already:
- Piloted the full cycle with a Citizens’ Jury on the NHS
- Received positive feedback from respected public figures including Rory Stewart, Adam Kay, and Ben Stewart (Led by Donkeys)
- Begun working with a research consortium from the University of Edinburgh, University of Strathclyde and Queen Margaret University evaluate and evolve our democratic impact
Hive Mind Speaks matters because it restores public agency through art and dialogue. We believe democracy should be beautiful, disruptive and participatory and we’re building the infrastructure to make that happen at scale.
Our activities
We run a yearly cycle of activity that combines public art, civic engagement and democratic innovation:
- Artistic Interventions – We design and install powerful, often guerrilla-style artworks in public spaces to spark conversation about urgent social issues.
- Public Deliberation – We host structured participatory forums (such as Citizens’ Juries and digital dialogue consensus shaping platforms) that invite a cross-section of the public to explore and discuss those issues in depth.
- Referendums – We invite wider public participation through symbolic national votes, giving people a meaningful say in the decisions that affect their lives.
- Policy Influence & Public Discourse – We publish and promote the outcomes of each cycle, advocating for citizen-led recommendations with policymakers, media, and cultural institutions.
- Art Sale Sustainability – Each intervention produces a unique, limited-edition artwork. These are later sold through high-value art channels to fund future cycles, reducing our reliance on grants and offering an innovative model of civic self-sufficiency.
Our work is grounded in collaboration with researchers, civic technologists and artists. We’re currently focused on building organisational capacity and preparing our first fully-funded national campaign.
