Art as Activism: Professor Steve Lambert’s Work Gets Zurich Talking
The 21 x 35-foot interactive sign, Capitalism Works for Me! True/False invites audiences to engage in thoughtful reflection and meaningful debate at the Zürcher Theater Spektakel, a festival that celebrates art and culture.
Known for large-scale, conceptual public projects, Associate Professor of New Media Steven Lambert’s artwork tackles social and political issues through interactive participation. The result is art that connects uncommon, idealistic, or even radical ideas with everyday life.
Each location hosting Capitalism Works for Me comes with its own surprises. For the Zürcher Theater Spektakel, held in August 2025, Lambert created a scaled-up version of the work at the organizers’ request. He recalls when they first proposed a larger size.
“‘We like it, but…’” they said with just enough hesitation to make me worry, “‘can it be bigger?’”
“In cities and festivals around the world, no one ever asked me if the Capitalism Works For Me! True/False sign could be bigger. At 20 ft. long and 9 ft. tall, it held its own in huge venues like Times Square in New York, Federal Square in Melbourne, Australia.
“‘Bigger? Sure!’ I said. So we super-sized it.”
The installation stood out for sparking discussion in the banking hub of Switzerland, a country known for its political neutrality.
“What makes this piece unique here in Zurich, Switzerland, is audience participation,” says Lambert.
“Our facilitators are getting Swiss people to talk to each other—which, I’m told, doesn’t happen often.”
Simple Question, Complex Answers
Since 2011, Capitalism Works for Me! True/False has been featured at festivals and public sites worldwide, including Times Square, Seattle, Vancouver, the Netherlands, Australia, and Scotland.
So, what inspired Lambert to take on Capitalism in the first place?
“I had studied and made work about the impact of advertising for years and decided to go straight to the heart of it,” says Lambert.
“It became a design challenge—how do I get people to seriously evaluate capitalism in their own lives, without making them run as fast as they could in the other direction?
“The phrasing is deliberately affirmative, and the choices are limited on a complex topic. That is what compels people to speak up and explain what they’re thinking.”
Lambert earned his MFA at the University of California, Davis, and began teaching New Media courses at Purchase in 2012. He says he “talks a lot” and shows examples in classes about the impact that creative people can have on the world.
Throughout his career, he’s created signs and text-based artworks.
“If you can imagine trying to write a poem, but you only get three or six words. It feels impossible at first. This one came out of conversations with some friends, months of iterations and refining, and some luck. It’s really held up over the years.”
Artistically Active
Lambert cofounded the Center for Artistic Activism (CAA) in 2009 with Purchase alum and close collaborator, Steve Duncombe ’88 (Sociology).
The CAA offers workshops, “that help activists think like artists and artists like activists,” says Duncombe. The two coauthored The Art of Activism: Your All-Purpose Guide to Making the Impossible Possible. They are in touch nearly every day.
Lambert’s research, based on the answers he has gathered, has also been cited in a United Nations report on advertising and cultural rights and is referenced in the book The Discourses of Capitalism.
The next stop for the CWFM! sign may be Austria. As for the vote tally in Zürich? At press time, Lambert says,
“‘False’ is well in the lead.”
The Capitalism Works for Me! True/False installation at the Zürcher Theater Spektakel
Professor Steve Lambert’s Capitalism Works for Me! True/False installation at the Aug. 2025 Zürcher Theater Spektakel in Zürich, Switzerland