Guerrilla democracy
From intervention to policy, activism collective Hive Mind Speaks strives to bridge the gap for excluded voices, transforming art into influence, conversation into consensus, and consensus into change
Summary
Joshua Oliver, aka Red Jay, founded Hive Mind Speaks to bring the people’s voice into policy decisions. The NHS65 project combined guerrilla art, public debate and a citizens’ jury to feed into the government’s10-year health plan, demonstrating how culture can drive consensus and accountability. Now developing Hive Mind Votes with tech partners and universities, Oliver envisions referendums shaped by artistic interventions and AI-driven civic deliberation. His goal: a sustainable cycle where art, democracy and public voice reshape politics.
In the UK, 650 Members of Parliament make decisions affecting almost 70 million people. While we elect these MPs, most of us have little influence over their policies that shape our daily lives. Hive Mind Speaks aims to address this lack of agency, which we see in how public services are delivered, how taxes are spent and in the absence of a meaningful political voice for citizens.
Our new civic arts model blends art with deliberation. When introducing our work, I often ask: “What if artists like Banksy, Ai Weiwei or Led by Donkeys gave the public the tools to respond to their work and influence future policy?”
At Hive Mind Speaks, we believe that art can provoke, but art alone is not enough. For lasting, real-world change, it must connect with democratic processes. Through artistic interventions, we can make participatory democracy more accessible. They draw in those already willing to engage in civic forums while also motivating people who might not otherwise take part. A well-designed guerrilla art/participatory democracy cycle can be worn like a badge of honour, sparking conversation and driving action.
NHS65: testing the model
My bond with the NHS is deeply personal. Born with a rare musculoskeletal condition, I had multiple surgeries in infancy to ensure I would have the ability to walk. Later, facial reconstruction surgery gave me ownership over my body and image. But when a concerning potentially degenerative neurological diagnosis left me facing a year-long wait to see a specialist, it revealed how far the service is now buckling under strain, a reality that inspired me to launch NHS65.
Upon the 65th anniversary of the death of ‘father of the NHS’ Aneurin Bevan, we launched a 65-location guerrilla art tour. This project depicted a dystopian NHS via an LED video truck, which was driven into high-visibility areas to spark public attention and conversation. We combined this with on-the-ground vox pops, a targeted social media campaign and online polls posing questions on the main themes that arose from the Lord Darzi report, commissioned as an independent investigation of the NHS. Together, these formed the basis for distilling the key talking points that became the foundation for a citizens’ jury. My conviction to combine art with participatory deliberation was strengthened by hearing Rory Stewart’s passionate advocacy for citizens’ assemblies on his Rest is Politics podcast and his personal encouragement helped shape the early stages of our approach.
After the tour, Hive Mind Speaks convened that citizens’ jury. Participants debated key issues raised during the tour and voted on priorities. These included questions such as: ‘Should regional areas be responsible for their own NHS decisions? And ‘Should the NHS become a national wellbeing service that looks at housing, food and access to jobs?’ We then submitted their recommendations to the government’s NHS Change Initiative, which has now published its 10-year plan informed by public feedback. The NHS65 project received praise from figures such as writer/campaigner Dr Adam Kay (This is Going to Hurt) and Ben Stewart of Led by Donkeys, recognising our model of democratic participation as vital work.
“We launched a 65-location guerrilla art tour. This project depicted a dystopian NHS via an LED video truck, which was driven into high-visibility areas to spark public attention.”
From performance to accountability
Government-led citizen-input initiatives (both central and local) often feel performative, with little clarity on whether recommendations have been implemented. Our approach is different. We embed what we call ‘galvanised accountability’.
The ITV drama about the Post Office Horizon scandal showed how public outrage, channelled via media pressure, can force institutions to act. This approach forms part of the model we are adopting as one component of our ‘Theory of Change’, which identifies the lever for change as the dilemma faced by decision-makers when confronted with clear public consensus. Guerrilla art and deliberation generate policy solutions, referendums confirm them and galvanised accountability ensures that ignoring the outcome risks escalating media and public pressure.
Our theory was put to the test with NHS65. I feel a genuine sense that the public’s voice was heard in the government’s Change NHS 10-year plan. The next challenge is ensuring their proposals are acted upon and that is where media pressure and galvanised accountability come in.
Scaling up
Building on NHS65, we are developing a more structured deliberation system. This is inspired by Audrey Tang’s vTaiwan process, which was highlighted in RSA Journal Issue 2 2024. As Taiwan’s first digital affairs minister, Tang used open-source software to facilitate large-scale consensus building, allowing public input to directly shape national policy.
While the UK government is unlikely to use such direct public-to-policy mechanisms anytime soon, Hive Mind Speaks intends to lead by example. If we can demonstrate the value of this approach, our guiding ambition is one day to see a Citizens’ Participation Bill mandating public involvement in policymaking.
Our next step is ‘Hive Mind Votes’, which creates referendums that follow artistic interventions and online deliberation. Using AI, we will surface common ground while downplaying extremist positions, distilling discussions into clear recommendations to put to a referendum. CrownShy, our tech partner (whose head of design, Shu Yang Lin, collaborated with Audrey Tang), is building the platform. We are also in discussions to integrate this process design into a research consortium we are building with the universities of Strathclyde and Edinburgh.
Initially, these referendums will be online, but our goal is to hold in-person events in key locations once engagement reaches critical mass, creating the same buzz as a national referendum.
After each referendum, we will disseminate the results to the media. An advocacy department at Hive Mind Speaks will engage with policy and legislation decision-makers to fight for the change people voted for. To prevent any appearance of political bias, we will let the general public choose the critical issues we prioritise in future cycles.
A new civic arts model
The passing of my father significantly accelerated my path into guerrilla art, shaped by his values of activism, creativity and environmentalism. Thanks to his support, I have been able to pursue this work in a space where funding is scarce.
As the term ‘guerrilla’ can deter funders wary of political association, we are developing a circular funding model. Each intervention will produce artworks for later sale, funding the next cycle of civic action.
At Hive Mind Speaks, each cycle is intended to leave more than just recommendations. If we do our job right, investors won’t just be buying art. They’ll be buying cultural moments, perhaps even fragments of legislative history. Each sale will seed the next intervention, fuelling a cycle where art, democracy and accountability meet to improve the lives of everyone taking part.
“Our next step is ‘Hive Mind Votes’, which creates referendums that follow artistic interventions and online deliberation”
Get involved
Hive Mind Speaks seeks allies who share our belief that art and democracy must grow together. To find out more about the work of Hive Mind Speaks go to www.hivemindspeaks.com or email hello@hivemindspeaks.com
Planting seeds
At this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, I saw Pussy Riot’s Riot Days. One line struck me profoundly: “If you start your schoolwork on the first page and do your sketches in the back, sooner or later the two will meet in the middle. And, next to your history notes, graffiti appears. Which turns history into a different story.” Hive Mind Speaks sits at this point of collision.
This perspective reminds me of the black-and-white photograph of Greta Thunberg during her first school climate strike. Sitting alone with her sign, she symbolised an entire generation excluded from the world they will inherit. Who could have foreseen the profound impact she would have?
Exclusion can be the catalyst for transformation. Every movement starts somewhere, and ours is only beginning.
Joshua Oliver, aka Red Jay, is an artivist and Founder of Hive Mind Speaks.
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