One of the supposed silver linings of Donald Trump’s presidential win in 2016 was all the great art we would get.

The flames of discontent were to be fanned through artistic resistance, and art was positioned as a beacon of hope in opposition. I don’t want to spoil anything, but obviously that did not happen.

Now with Trump returning to the White House, advocates for artistic political resistance are nowhere to be seen. It only took one term of President Trump to quietly rubbish the idea that art will see a resurgence in priority, or that art could even produce real, tangible world change in the first place.

Art is wonderful and can do many things. Altering political systems and influencing the decisions of those who maintain those systems is not one of them.

Of course, there was plenty of art that addressed the Trump presidency. People did try. Emphasis on try. Unfortunately, the majority of it was superficial, sloganised, and drenched in tacky surface-level liberalism. It seems this time around the mood is not one of resistance, in whatever form that may take, but dismay and exhaustion. This time there’s no point in trying.

If I may defend throwing soup on Van Goghs and slathering paint on Stonehenge

But where did the idea come from that someone like Trump gaining........

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