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Joel Bergner

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Joel Bergner (aka Joel Artista) is an American muralist, street artist, and educator who creates large-scale works of art with the participation of young people and communities around the world.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Bergner is the co-founder and co-director of the non-profit organization Artolution, which organizes community-based public art initiatives with those who have experienced armed conflict, trauma and social marginalization.[7][8][9] He has led such projects with incarcerated teenagers, Syrian refugees, youth from slum areas, the mentally and physically disabled, young people with substance abuse issues, orphans and street children.[10][5][11][12][4][13]

Art activism

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Bergner has led multiple projects in Jordan with Syrian children in the Za’atari refugee camp and other communities in partnership with UNICEF, aptART, ACTED and Mercy Corps, in collaboration with local Syrian artists and educators.[14][15][16][10]

For his 2016 tour of India, Bergner’s community projects addressed issues of gender equality and human trafficking. His work was featured at the Kala Ghoda Art Festival in Mumbai and he created a mural with local artists in West Bengal for the International Anti-Human Trafficking Conclave, organized by NGO Shakti Vahini, the Indian government and the US Consulate in Kolkata.[17][18][19]

Through Artolution, he and co-director Max Frieder lead regular projects that bring together Israeli and Palestinian adolescents to create public murals together and begin a dialogue as a step toward reconciliation, work that is supported by the US Embassy and Consulate. As part of the same program, they facilitate projects with Palestinian youth in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.[7][8][20][1]

Art work

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Working primarily in spray paint and acrylic paint, Bergner has created large public murals in many US cities and in Brazil, Jordan, India,[18] Cuba, Kenya, Estonia, South Africa, Mexico, Norway, Israel and the Palestinian territories,[1][8] Mozambique, Poland, Cape Verde, El Salvador, Germany, the UK, Sweden and Peru.[21][22][2][23][5][12][13][4][9][17][19] These projects often feature collaborations with human rights and youth organizations as well as companies, government agencies and educational institutions, most notably the International Rescue Committee, the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants,[24] the Boys & Girls Club, UNICEF, Mercy Corps, Park Inn by Radisson Hotels,[21] Street Child United, WITNESS,[10] the US State Department, Meridian International Center and Amnesty International, who invited him to be a featured artist at their Human Rights Art Festival in 2010.[22][23][25][26][7][8][9][1][17][18][19][14][15][16]

Honors

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In 2014, Joel Bergner was a featured artist with the global event Street Child World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, where he worked with former and current street children from around the world to create public art, followed by the Street Child Summit in London in 2015.[2][27][22] In 2013 Joel Bergner organized and led the Kibera Walls for Peace Initiative in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya in collaboration with the Kibera Hamlets youth organization. The project, which was widely covered in the international media, involved peace-building workshops with local children and teenagers and the creation of a series of street paintings that promoted peace ahead of the 2013 presidential elections, all of which was documented for a film by Nairobi filmmaker Willie Owusu.[28][29][30][31][32][33][34] The initiative included a collaboration with local graffiti artists for the "Peace Train," in which the artists and youth participants painted a 10-car passenger train with art aimed at easing ethnic tensions as the election approached.

Bergner’s art-based social projects have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and in the books Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo and Mural Art Volume 3.[4][35][36][37] He has been featured on the international news networks Al Jazeera English,[38] CNN,[14] Voice of America,[39] and BBC World News.[40]

Jedrus center building,
mural designed (2016) by Joel Bergner,
6a osiedle Centrum A, Nowa Huta, Krakow, Poland.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Stavsky, Lois. "Brooklyn-based artist Joel Bergner aka Joel Artista on his recent project with Israeli and Palestinian youth". Street Art NYC. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c London Calling (2015-09-10). "Joel Bergner Paints the Village Underground". London Calling Blog. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  3. ^ Majtan, Leisha. "Queens People of the Week Turn Eyesore into Work of Art". NY1 News. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d Kiriako̧s, Iosifidis (2008). Mural Art Volume 3:Murals on Huge Public Surfaces Around the World : from Graffiti to Trompe L'oeil. Publikat. ISBN 9783939566281. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b c Falcón, Neida Lis. "Joel Bergner realiza residência artística em Cabo Verde". A Semana 2011-02-02.
  6. ^ Toomey, Mandy. "Mural Lights Way to a Better Life" (PDF). Street Sense 2010-10-26. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-11. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
  7. ^ a b c Livingston, Ellen. "Healing and empowering the world – one art project at a time". Teacher's College Newsroom. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d Gravé-Lazi, Lidar. "Diplomatic spouses rally to help migrant children in south Tel Aviv". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c "Artolution - International Community-Based Public Arts Movement". Artolution. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  10. ^ a b c Kerr, Sarah Stein (2013-08-29). "Street Art, Video and Social Change: Joel Bergner Visits WITNESS". Witness.
  11. ^ Vesen, Daniel. "The 2016 #AddColorToLives Project". Park Inn by Radisson Blog.
  12. ^ a b Nahima, Maciel (29 November 0210). "Norte-americano Joel Bergner Percorre o Mundo com o Grafiti de Intervenção". Correio Braziliense 2010-11-29.
  13. ^ a b Tele Turquia. "Arte Soy: Entrevista con Joel Bergner". Tele Turquino, Santiago de Cuba 2012-01-18.
  14. ^ a b c Anderson, Becky. "Connect the World: Parting Shot". CNN. CNN. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  15. ^ a b Mis, Magda. "PHOTOBLOG: Refugees and artists turn camp into art in Jordan". Thomas Reuters Foundation News. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  16. ^ a b Barry, Orla. "The Green Room (Ireland)" (mp3). Newstalk 106-108FM Radio.
  17. ^ a b c University of Nottingham. "Together We Can End Human Trafficking". Antislavery Then and Now.
  18. ^ a b c Lad, Devin. "American mural artist comes to Mumbai to spread the cause of education". DNA India. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  19. ^ a b c Diplomom. "Gee. Bee. Vee". Diplomomdotcom. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  20. ^ "Artolution - International Community-Based Public Arts Movement". Artolution. Retrieved 2016-03-08.
  21. ^ a b Park Inn by Radisson. "Adding Color To Lives". Park Inn by Radisson Blog.
  22. ^ a b c Davies, Dan. "Joel Bergner: The Bigger Picture". Vu-Zine online magazine.
  23. ^ a b Herman, Ali. "The Street Child World Cup". World Policy Blog. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  24. ^ US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. "Out of Many, One: Q&A with Artist Joel Bergner". refugees.org. Archived from the original on 2011-12-04. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
  25. ^ Amnesty International. "Amnesty International: The Human Rights Arts Festival". Amnesty International 2010.
  26. ^ Tomassini, Jason. "In bold brushstrokes, refugees tell their tales". Gazette 2009-06-10.
  27. ^ World Policy article by Ali Herman http://www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2014/06/24/street-child-world-cup
  28. ^ "Kenya's Graffiti Train Seeks to Promote a Peaceful Election". NPR.
  29. ^ "Kenya Railway - Graffiti for Peace in Kenya during the Elections - CNN iReport". CNN.
  30. ^ "Arise News 27 Feb - Latest News - ARISE NEWS - London, New York, Johannesburg - Every Culture, Every Angle". Archived from the original on 2013-05-21. Retrieved 2013-05-17.
  31. ^ [1]
  32. ^ "Kenya's week in pictures: 22-28 February 2013". BBC News. 2013-03-01.
  33. ^ "Kibera residents fear repetition of Kenyan election violence". 27 February 2013.
  34. ^ "Projects call for peace ahead of Kenya vote | AFP Videos - Yahoo Screen". Archived from the original on 2014-10-28. Retrieved 2013-05-17.
  35. ^ Siegal, Ann (2010-01-15). "Legal Graffiti Artists Create Murals Around DC". Washington Post 2010-01-15.
  36. ^ Jacoby, Annice (June 2009). Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo. Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 9780810996359. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  37. ^ Rivlin, Gary (2006-06-11). "Dollars and Dreams: Immigrants as Prey". The New York Times 2006-06-11.
  38. ^ Al Jazeera. "Worls Refugee Day: The Global Refugee Mural". Al Jazeera English 2009-06-20.
  39. ^ Voice of America. "Baltimore Mural: Joel Bergner". Voice of America Urdu.
  40. ^ BBC (2010-04-22). "Washington DC Street Murals Paint the Town". BBC World News 2010-04-22.
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[1] [2]

  1. ^ "Joel Artista". Joel Artista Website.
  2. ^ "Artolution". Artolution website.
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