ARTEGENESISBENJAMIN SWATEZ, PhD
ARTISTRESEARCHERPEACEBUILDERDOCUMENTED PRACTICECONTACT & COLLABORATEBIO
03 / COMMUNITY & TRANSFORMATION

Created togetherCarried forward

Community members are authors of their own expression. Explore artistic processes shaped through listening, shared imagination and local knowledge.

Communities in creation

Creativity is a
community resource.

Across conflict, displacement, disaster recovery and everyday community life, expressive arts can open a space for people to create, witness and connect. Each project begins with its own people, history and context.

Follow the fieldwork

01 / 09

Resilience, Empowerment & Community Cohesion

Pacific Palisades

Out of loss, people create again.

View full-size panel
Pacific Palisades. From catastrophe to community authored form: the fire aftermath, collaborative mural, community gatherings and National Mural Awards Community Award.

02 / 09

Los Angeles · Québec

Reciprocity Across Borders

Creative expression moves in more than one direction.

View full-size panel
Reciprocity Across Borders. Children’s messages of gratitude after the Los Angeles fires become a painting presented to Québec firefighters, connecting communities across borders.

03 / 09

Rwanda National Art Museum · Kigali, Rwanda

The Land of Milk and Honey

Art connects what has been, what is, and what can be.

View full-size panel
The Land of Milk and Honey. Cultural memory and futurity through collaborative murals, ancestral wisdom, science and knowledge, with coverage in The New Times.

04 / 09

Vadodara, Gujarat, India · 2017

Indigenous Knowledge / Community Authorship

When communities lead, art strengthens lives.

View full-size panel
Indigenous Knowledge / Community Authorship. Pithora and Adivasi artists and international collaborators create murals grounded in local knowledge, authorship and cultural authority.

05 / 09

Kathmandu, Nepal · 2017

Wall of Hope

Art can interrupt cycles of silence and open pathways toward freedom.

View full-size panel
Wall of Hope. Art, human rights and scholarly afterlife: murals, community engagement, press coverage and inclusion in the University of Nottingham Rights Lab archive.

06 / 09

Puerto Rico CRICM · Community Art, Music and Global Reach

From Physical Artwork to Global Media

A mural in Puerto Rico. A message to the world.

View full-size panel
From Physical Artwork to Global Media. Community murals following Hurricane Maria, their appearance in Wisin and Yandel’s music video, and The Goodness Tour at the Global Joy Summit.

07 / 09

Montserrat · CRICM

Human Imagination. Emerging Technology. Physical Form.

Technology as a tool. People as the authors.

View full-size panel
Human Imagination. Emerging Technology. Physical Form.. Community-led mural creation in Montserrat, from listening and drawing to design exploration with AI and collective painting after volcanic destruction.

08 / 09

Creative Practice in the Aftermath of Mass Violence

Barlonyo, Uganda

Before there was a theory, there was the encounter.

View full-size panel
Barlonyo, Uganda. Survivors of the Barlonyo massacre, children and families create art in collaboration with Children of Peace Uganda, exploring resilience, empowerment and community cohesion.

09 / 09

Crisis Intervention Community Mural · 2015–2016

Palestine / Israel — Peace-Building

Different People. Same Land. Shared Future.

View full-size panel
Palestine / Israel — Peace-Building. Palestinian and Israeli youth creating shared art at EcoME near Jericho and the Dead Sea, Jisr al-Zarqa, and Neve Shalom / Wahat al-Salam; the 2016 return to Jisr al-Zarqa and the educational ripple.