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Art Against Brutality: Community and Collaborative Art Projects with Survivors of Political Violence
Art Against Brutality brings a much-needed contribution to the field of community arts and the burgeoning field of social practice art, as well as adding to post-conflict literature, dealing with the aftermath of state terro in Latin America (El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, Argentina, México) and with native people in the United States. It outlines truly collaborative approaches, based on ideas from the community participants, rather than shaped by the facilitating artist. Often the form of the art project is a mural, in which the participants decide on the theme and storyline. These collaborative, community-based art projects engage children, youth, and adults to converse and to find a common thread of intention. Often this thread is rooted in shared historical memory; it emerges from personal and communal stories, from people’s expectations, fears, and tenacity to continue living despite the carnage, losses, and displacement they have suffered.
352 pages, Paperback
Published June 16, 2026
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Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
NetGalley ARC
Art Against Brutality is a record of art helping build and heal communities in the aftermath of violence. Honest to the participants and caring to the communities involved in the project, Bernardi shares their stories and experiences- the history of violence within the communities and the ways they have sought to rebuild afterwards, and their stories of creativity and community within the mural projects. Within documenting the projects, Bernardi also takes the time to educate the reader on the relevant histories within each community project to paint a bigger picture on the importance of the artwork. Complete with photos of the finished artwork this is a book that provides hope and a framework for community-based healing through art projects.
Art Against Brutality is like a literature review of Claudia Bernardi’s community art project which she leads and involves communities from different areas in Latin America affected by loss, displacement and violence. Bernardi is the guide, the facilitator in this instance, helping the participants make decisions and the final artwork rather than being an active contributor. She shares her knowledge and care with the participants to help them take on the project, curate and create the final pieces themselves, providing a sense of community and confidence with her presence. The book adds to the post-conflict literature as we explore the thoughts and experiences of each community involved as they discuss what events to include, how to portray them and what they want to say. Further from this we also have first-hand recounts of acts of violence that shares victims’ voices and documents the terrors- providing research but also a basis of understanding as to how the art pieces unfold.
When reading this the one thing that I enjoyed most was how the personalities of the people involved were conveyed. The older ladies who caused mischief when they painted over the mural and giggled when Bernardi discovered this, the more hesitant and detail-orientated artists who did lots of planning- there were many personalities and this was conveyed in the writing effortlessly which really humanised the people and showed that they are more than the violence around them. It felt like a joyous moment when this happened that transcended the pages and I could see in my mind the vision of each of the groups having fun and collaborating in their own ways.
One moment that I think was really reflective was the frog drawing incident- the participants wanted a frog behind a rock but couldn’t work out how to do this. The logical answer of Bernardi was to paint the frog smaller and use perspective; however, ultimately the artists decided to paint the frog and then the rock over the frog. They knew the frog was behind the rock even if no-one else did. This made me laugh but also it showed autonomy and problem solving and that the community was in charge- they got the final say and I think that was important. It also highlighted to me how they were not only creating a mural but learning lots of new skills within the project which is important. There may be a deeper meaning to the frog than what we think too, which is also a nice homage to autonomy and private feelings having space in discussions of terror and violence. I also loved the moment when the women in one of the groups wanted to paint more so they got more canvases and continued the project outside of the final piece- it really conveyed the positive impact of the project.
There were many solemn and heartwarming moments in the book which created a more narrative-based approach, differing it from a standard literature-review in a research paper. The stories were shared and sometimes it was quite intense but balanced well with the project logs and pictures. The inclusion of the photos also helped to showcase the hard work and efforts of the communities.
I found this book both sad and empowering. Sad for the experiences and the violence endured by the people but to see them take control of a project and put their own words and voices into it, to be in charge and make decisions and complete the artwork was really great. Such a range of people were involved and their histories- personal and cultural- were approached delicately and respectfully making for a successful book documenting the experience.
Art Against Brutality is a record of art helping build and heal communities in the aftermath of violence. Honest to the participants and caring to the communities involved in the project, Bernardi shares their stories and experiences- the history of violence within the communities and the ways they have sought to rebuild afterwards, and their stories of creativity and community within the mural projects. Within documenting the projects, Bernardi also takes the time to educate the reader on the relevant histories within each community project to paint a bigger picture on the importance of the artwork. Complete with photos of the finished artwork this is a book that provides hope and a framework for community-based healing through art projects.
Art Against Brutality is like a literature review of Claudia Bernardi’s community art project which she leads and involves communities from different areas in Latin America affected by loss, displacement and violence. Bernardi is the guide, the facilitator in this instance, helping the participants make decisions and the final artwork rather than being an active contributor. She shares her knowledge and care with the participants to help them take on the project, curate and create the final pieces themselves, providing a sense of community and confidence with her presence. The book adds to the post-conflict literature as we explore the thoughts and experiences of each community involved as they discuss what events to include, how to portray them and what they want to say. Further from this we also have first-hand recounts of acts of violence that shares victims’ voices and documents the terrors- providing research but also a basis of understanding as to how the art pieces unfold.
When reading this the one thing that I enjoyed most was how the personalities of the people involved were conveyed. The older ladies who caused mischief when they painted over the mural and giggled when Bernardi discovered this, the more hesitant and detail-orientated artists who did lots of planning- there were many personalities and this was conveyed in the writing effortlessly which really humanised the people and showed that they are more than the violence around them. It felt like a joyous moment when this happened that transcended the pages and I could see in my mind the vision of each of the groups having fun and collaborating in their own ways.
One moment that I think was really reflective was the frog drawing incident- the participants wanted a frog behind a rock but couldn’t work out how to do this. The logical answer of Bernardi was to paint the frog smaller and use perspective; however, ultimately the artists decided to paint the frog and then the rock over the frog. They knew the frog was behind the rock even if no-one else did. This made me laugh but also it showed autonomy and problem solving and that the community was in charge- they got the final say and I think that was important. It also highlighted to me how they were not only creating a mural but learning lots of new skills within the project which is important. There may be a deeper meaning to the frog than what we think too, which is also a nice homage to autonomy and private feelings having space in discussions of terror and violence. I also loved the moment when the women in one of the groups wanted to paint more so they got more canvases and continued the project outside of the final piece- it really conveyed the positive impact of the project.
There were many solemn and heartwarming moments in the book which created a more narrative-based approach, differing it from a standard literature-review in a research paper. The stories were shared and sometimes it was quite intense but balanced well with the project logs and pictures. The inclusion of the photos also helped to showcase the hard work and efforts of the communities.
I found this book both sad and empowering. Sad for the experiences and the violence endured by the people but to see them take control of a project and put their own words and voices into it, to be in charge and make decisions and complete the artwork was really great. Such a range of people were involved and their histories- personal and cultural- were approached delicately and respectfully making for a successful book documenting the experience.
Displaying 1 of 1 review