At the 2025 Glastonbury Festival in the UK, Turner Prize-winning artist Mark Wallinger presented an anti-fascist installation titled "Jungle Gym" at the Terminal 1 Stage, curated by Oriana Garzón as part of the exhibition "No Human is Illegal." The work, built with chainlink fencing and using only Unicef blue, highlights the suffering of children in Gaza and the bureaucratic challenges faced by migrants. Festivalgoers entered by answering a British citizenship test question, with incorrect answers sending them to the back of the line, before passing through a cabin styled as a refugee camp to reach the installation.
This matters because it underscores the growing intersection of visual art and political activism at major cultural events like Glastonbury, which traditionally focus on music. Wallinger's installation directly addresses the Israel-Hamas war and the plight of migrant communities, reflecting a broader trend of artists using festivals as platforms for urgent social commentary. The exhibition also featured migrant performers and faced controversy over the inclusion of the rap group Kneecap, highlighting deep divisions in the music industry and society at large.