Tools for Action was an informal art collective working on the intersection of art and activism. As of 2019 it is formalized as Stichting Tools for Action Foundation. It acts as collaboration platform between artists, educators, activists and others interested in making and interventions with inflatable sculptures. Tools for Action aims to practice alternative forms of social engagement and resistance and open the way for experimentation.
Tools for Action was in 2012 by the Dutch-Hungarian artist Artúr van Balen working in Berlin, Germany, first operating as Eclectic Electric Collective with Jakub Simcik, by making inflatable objects within a protest context. Joint projects with Jakub Simcik were The Hammer (Berlin-Mexico 2010); publication El Martillo (2011). During the years several collaborators and members of collective took part in different actions as well as educational and artistic activities.
Award for Cultural Education of the Federal Ministry of Culture and the Media of Germany for 2017 for the project Mirror Barricade together with Schauspiel Dortmund.
Jan Brueghelthe Elder was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. He was the younger son of the eminent Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. A close friend and frequent collaborator with Peter Paul Rubens, the two artists were the leading Flemish painters in the Flemish Baroque painting of the first three decades of the 17th century.
IG Metall is the dominant metalworkers' union in Germany, making it the country's largest union as well as Europe's largest industrial union. Analysts of German labor relations consider it a major trend-setter in national bargaining.
Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft is a German trade union based in Berlin, Germany. It was established on 19 March 2001 as the result of a merger of five individual unions and is a member of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB). With around 1.9 million members, Verdi is the second largest German trade union after IG Metall. It currently employs around 3000 members of staff in Germany and has an annual income of approximately 454 million Euros obtained from membership subscriptions. The trade union is divided into 10 federal state districts and five divisions and is managed by a National Executive Board (Bundesvorstand) with nine members. Frank Bsirske was the chairman of Verdi from its founding in 2001 until September 2019, when Frank Werneke was elected.
Trade unions in Germany have a history reaching back to the German revolution in 1848, and still play an important role in the German economy and society.
The Checkpoint Charlie Museum is a private museum in Berlin. It is named after the famous crossing point through the Berlin Wall, and was created to document the so-called "best border security system in the world". On display are the photos and related documents of successful escape attempts from East Germany, together with the escape apparatus: hot-air balloons, getaway cars, chairlifts, and a mini-U-boat. The museum researches and maintains a list of deaths at the Berlin Wall. It is operated by the Mauermuseum-Betriebs gGmbH, and the director is Alexandra Hildebrandt.
FriendsWithYou (FWY) is an art collaboration founded in 2002 and based in Los Angeles, California.
The German Metal Workers' Union was a German industrial union for metalworkers formed in 1891 and dissolved after the Nazis' accession to power in 1933.
Cat Mazza is an American textile artist. Her practice combines tactical media, activism, craft-based art making and animation in a form that has frequently been described as craftivism. She is the founder of the craftivist collective microRevolt. Mazza is an associate professor of art at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Various & Gould is a Berlin-based artist duo.
The Wolfsburg Volkswagen Plant is the worldwide headquarters of the Volkswagen Group. Situated in Wolfsburg, Germany, it is one of the largest manufacturing plants in the world, with an area of just under 6.5 million m2 (70 million sq ft) and a building area of 1.6 million m2 (17 million sq ft). In 2015 the plant produced 815,000 cars. Volkswagen's currywurst is also produced at this facility.
Nicole Anona Banowetz is a Denver based artist who is known for creating giant inflatable sculpture of microscopic creatures. Her work has been shown internationally appearing in shows in the Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Taiwan, and Poland. Her works frequently appears at festivals around the world.
Ivan Cash is an American interactive artist, filmmaker, and speaker. His work celebrates human connection and explores themes of belonging in the 21st century. In 2016, Cash was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 Artist, and in 2018 was appointed a member of the USPS Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee.
Isabelle Schad is a German dancer and choreographer.
Franz Steinkühler is a German business consultant and former trade union leader. He served between 1986 and 1993 as boss of the powerful "IG Metall" , which after 1990, following what amounted to a take-over of its hitherto separate East German counterpart, became the largest trade union in the western world, in terms of membership numbers.
A tech union is a trade union for tech workers typically employed in high tech or information and communications technology sectors. Due to the evolving nature of technology and work, different government agencies have conflicting definitions for who is a tech worker. Most definitions include computer scientists, people working in IT, telecommunications, media and video gaming. Broader definitions include all workers required for a tech company to operate, including on-site service staff, contractors, and platform economy workers.
IBM is an American technology company that employs 300,000 people across 170 countries, primarily in the United States and India. IBM's low union density and limited union recognition is attributed to a corporate culture, that emphasizes highly individualized relationships between managers and their direct reports, and proactive avoidance of unions when managers become aware of union organizing activity.
Workers of the German auto manufacturer Volkswagen Group are collectively organized and represented by unions and Works Councils across the globe. Workers are organized on multiple levels; locally, regionally, nationally, internationally and by marque.
Myvillages is an international collective, founded in 2003 by artists Kathrin Böhm (UK/DE), Wapke Feenstra (NL) and Antje Schiffers (DE). Myvillages focuses on the rural as a place for cultural production and investigates the relationship between the countryside and the city, challenging and criticising the urban as the dominant cultural sphere.
Tesla, Inc. is an American electric car manufacturer that employs over 140,000 workers across its global operations as of January 2024, almost none of which are unionized. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has commented negatively on trade unions in relation to Tesla. Despite allegations of high injury rates, long hours, and below-industry pay, efforts to unionize the workforce have been largely unsuccessful. There are active labor disputes with Tesla in the United States, Germany and Sweden.