Joey Skaggs has been a doctor, a lawyer, an Indian chief. He ran a bordello for dogs, directed a celebrity sperm bank, and was the capo de capo of the Fat Squad, a paramilitary organization dedicated to wiping out obesity. His cockroach extract vitamin was invented to cure the world’s ailments, and he was the only man ever to windsurf from Hawaii to California.
These and many other achievements have been diligently reported as fact by domestic and international news media for over forty years. Yet every one of these so-called news stories was the creation of conceptual artist Joey Skaggs. His elaborately staged media hoaxes, which brilliantly satirize sociopolitical and cultural issues, have two overriding goals: to expose hypocrisy and effect social change.
Joey Skaggs’ unique brand of provocation resonates in the news media, affecting millions of lives around the world. His willingness to commit knowledge, energy, and resources to issues via his elaborately fabricated hoaxes inspires others to a deeper examination of their core beliefs and to create their own forms of social activism. Skaggs has lectured and conducted workshops on media literacy and media jamming across the United States and in countries as diverse as Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Norway, Slovenia, and Spain.
A Skaggs appearance offers not only a rousing defense of freedom of speech but scores a knockout punch thanks to his showmanship. His genuine gift of storytelling, by turns hilarious and compassionate, never fails to win with audiences.
Andrea Marini’s award winning documentary film about Joey’s life and work, ART OF THE PRANK, is now available for: Libraries, Students, Educators, Administrators, K-12, Colleges, Universities and for
Individuals, Organizations, Corporations, Governments, Grass Roots and Community Screenings
Organize a screening of ART OF THE PRANK movie and
bring Joey Skaggs to do a Q&A, lecture or workshop
Download Joey’s Press Kit Here
Colleges & Universities, such as:
- Academy of Media Arts, Cologne, Germany
- Art Academy, Oslo, Norway
- Beijing Broadcasting University, Beijing, China
- Boston University, Massachusetts
- Brera University, Milan, Italy
- Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
- Catholic University, Sao Paulo, Brazil
- China Academy of Art Shanghai
- Institute of Design, Shanghai
- Federal University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences, Graz, Austria
- FHWien der WKW University of Applied Sciences, Vienna, Austria
- Gannon University, Pennsylvania
- University of Guelph College of Arts, Guelph, Canada
- University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hawaii
- Hartvig Nissen High School of Performing Arts, Oslo, Norway
- Hofstra University, Long Island, New York
- Hopkinsville Community College, Kentucky
- John Cabot University, Rome, Italy
- Libera Università di Lingue e Comunicazione, IULM, Milan, Italy
- Murray State University, Kentucky
- New York University, New York
- Parsons School of Design, New York
- University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia
- School of Visual Arts, New York
- State University of New York, Cortland College
- State University of New York, SUNY Morrisville
- North Adams State College, Massachusetts
- Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- University of Kristiania Westerdals Film School, Oslo, Norway
- University of Oslo, Norway
- University of Queensland, Australia
- University of South Dakota
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- University of Wisconsin, Madison
- Virginia Tech University, Virginia
Festivals, Exhibitions, Conferences, Symposiums, such as:
- 7a*11d 6th Annual Int’l Festival of Performance Art, Toronto, Canada
- Advertising Week Europe, London, England
- Aksioma – Institute for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- ArcArt’02, “Extreme Arts Symposium”, Tromso, Norway
- Bowery Poetry Club, New York, New York
- Canadian Association of Journalists Conference, Toronto
- CBGB Panel Discussion on Culture Jamming, New York
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris, France
- Do Me! Performance Project, Toronto, Canada
- Drugo More Cultural Center, Rijeka, Croatia
- Espai D’Art Contemporani Exhibition, Castellon, Spain
- FAIR at Housing Works, New York
- Hawaii International Film Festival, Honolulu, Hawaii
- The Influencers, Barcelona, Spain
- Kulturkirken JAKOB, Oslo, Norway
- Kunstnernes Hus, “Stunt Club”, Oslo, Norway
- The Moth, New York
- Occupy the Truth: Whistleblowers Conference, Oakland, California
- Old Much Museum Tekstlab, Oslo, Norway
- Open Society Institute, Slovenia
- Southern Graphics Council Conference, Tennessee
- Toyota Comedy Festival, New York
- Taos Talking Pictures Media Literacy Forum, New Mexico
- ZKM Center for Art & Media, Karlsruhe, Germany