Brandeis Students Collaborate with Inaugural Justice Brandeis Practitioner-in-Residence Claudia Bernardi to Create Mural
November 11, 2024
On November 7, 2024, Argentine artist and activist Claudia Bernardi returned to Brandeis for a collaborative mural-making project with Brandeis students, the final interaction of her residency as the inaugural Justice Brandeis Practitioner-in-Residence. The result: “Temporal Liberation”, a mural that is now on display in the Shapiro Campus Center.
From November 7 to 11, Bernardi collaborated with 13 Brandeis students from diverse years, majors, and backgrounds: Gianna Crisha Saludo, Happy Emmanuel, Lex Felton, Kaitlyn Huang, Meli Jackson, Anya L'Esperance, Zixi Lin, Mel Lord, Emily Pahuamba, Fiona Ripp, Cameron Samuels, Rachel Shpuntoff, and Emily Yao.
As they gathered in the atrium of ENACT’s home, the Abraham Shapiro Academic Complex (ASAC), Bernardi created the space for these student artists to connect, collaborate, acknowledge each others’ perspectives, and paint. Together, she and the students crafted a piece of art that symbolized their collective common ground.
They created “Temporal Liberation”, a mural that symbolizes all the emotions currently overwhelming them and the unity that exists among them. From the angry sad sun and the barren landscape contrasting with the connection amongst the blue figures, a powerful statement of hope is made.
In their artists’ statement the students write: “Portraying a grieving Sun and two blue figures overlooking a scarred Earth, Temporal Liberation is a meditation on the cycles of oppression, suffering, and the possibility of renewal. The mural illustrates that social situations, oppressive and liberating, are our own creations. Flowing rivers, mountains, and fractal skies embody hope and agency. A bloodred abyss, home to a mass of anonymous figures marching toward the Sun, prompts us to confront our collective contribution to shaping and enabling human situations. Temporal Liberation is a call to act with intention, hope, and solidarity – a better tomorrow is possible within our lifetime.”
This mural marked the end of Bernardi’s residency, but is emblematic of her ongoing legacy at Brandeis, teaching students to find strength in unity and be brave in their efforts to understand and connect with those around them.
Claudia Bernardi is an installation artist, painter and printmaker whose artwork reflects the impact of war and its legacies. Bernardi designs and facilitates collaborative art projects with survivors of political violence, survivors of torture, survivors of sexual violence and with communities forced into exile. Born in Argentina, Bernardi was affected by the military junta (1976-1983) that caused 30,000 “desaparecidos.” In 2005, Bernardi founded Walls of Hope in a war zone in El Salvador, a community-based art, education, and human rights project that has been replicated in many countries around the world. Bernardi is Emerita Professor at the California College of the Arts.
Read more about Claudia Bernardi and her keynote address, “Striving to Strengthen Safe Spaces/Brave Spaces through Collaborative Mural-Making,” here.
Hosted by COMPACT and ENACT, the new Justice Brandeis Practitioner-in-Residence Limited Series highlights the knowledge and experience developed by the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life, and exposes the Brandeis campus community to spheres of activity that have only become more critical to our interconnected world over recent years. Read more about the series and nominate a practitioner here.