Citizen artists successfully rebuild the social infrastructure in six
communities devastated by war, repression and dislocation.
Author William Cleveland tells remarkable stories from Northern Ireland,
Cambodia, South Africa, United States (Watts, Los Angeles), aboriginal
Australia, and Serbia, about artists who resolve conflict, heal
unspeakable trauma, give voice to the forgotten and disappeared, and
restitch the cultural fabric of their communities.
Art can be a powerful agent of personal, institutional and community
change. The stories in this book have valuable implications for artists,
academics, educators, human service providers, philanthropists, and
community leaders throughout the world. The artists documented in the
book have generated new technologies for advocacy, organizing,
peacemaking, healing trauma and the rebuilding of community. Creativity
is our most powerful capacity, and it can mitigate and heal our most
destructive tendencies.