Doing visual activism. A practice-based approach to the study of visual social media use by kia'i mauna kea

Abstract

This article applies a practice-based approach to the study of social movements using visual social media. The article explores the visual practices of the social activist group Kia'i (protectors) [of] Mauna Kea, a sacred summit on the island of Hawai'i and the proposed location of the world's largest telescope: The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). Following Nick Couldry [1], this article poses the question: What do Kia'i do with visual social media? To answer this question, the use of Instagram by Kia'i was examined using the methodology of Visual Cross Platform Analysis [2]. This research expands on VCPA methodology, implementing a practice-based approach to uncover how practices of visual social media anchor [1] and overlap the practices of social movements [3]. This article brings to light some of the complex practices used by social activists to regain control over symbolic capital [4] from state and media institutions.