In the face of violence and conflict in our world, we must ask: How can we repair the fractures within our communities? How do we heal, rebuild and grow in the aftermath of strife?

There is rarely a single “correct” answer to these questions of reparation. However, Argentinian artist and human rights activist Claudia Bernardi has been exploring these challenges for years through her community-based artworks.

Bernardi, born in Buenos Aires, was part of a generation that entered young adulthood under a military dictatorship. In 1976, when Bernardi was around the age of many of us, the “Dirty War” began in Argentina, plunging the country into seven-years of brutal conflict. Although Bernardi was able to leave in 1979, 4 years before the war ultimately ended, much of her life was already shaped by political unrest. Her lived experience ultimately blended with her art, leading Bernardi down a path of arts activism.

In November of 2023, Bernardi brought her work to Brandeis, painting a collaborative mural with the students of Prof. Toni Shapiro-Phim’s (CAST) “Introduction to Creativity, the Arts, and Social Transformation” class. This mural, entitled “Waters Breathe, Too: An Anthology,” was an iteration of Bernardi’s “Walls of Hope” series, which engages individuals in a mural painting process that serves as a profound form of community building. At Brandeis, students from all different cultural and life backgrounds worked together to depict their relationship with water as a global resource. Beyond our university, “Walls of Hope” has built bonds among survivors of torture, children from war-torn areas, children in prisons and so many other communities. Her work is expansive, transformative and will be revisiting Brandeis on Oct. 1.

On April 25, the Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation and the Samuel Center for Community Partnerships and Civic Transformation at Brandeis announced the inaugural Justice Brandeis Practitioner-in-Residence Series, with Claudia Bernardi as the first resident. According to ENACT, the limited series is designed to “expose the Brandeis campus community to spheres of activity that have only become more critical to our interconnected world over recent years.” As such, Bernardi and her mural-making initiative perfectly encapsulate the need for spaces and conversation in a modern world filled with conflict.   

There will be two components to Bernardi’s residency at Brandeis. On Oct. 1, she will be giving a lecture on “Striving to Strengthen Safe Spaces/Brave Spaces Through Collaborative Mural-Making” from 2:30 to 3:40 p.m. in the Zinner Forum of The Heller School for Social Policy and Management. The lecture will give an opportunity for the broader Brandeis community to reflect on what it means to honor the truths and trauma of various communities through art.

The second, more intimate event will be another mural-making project in which 15 students will have the opportunity to work in collaboration with each other and Bernardi over the course of four days. The initiative will begin on Thursday, Nov. 7, with the final product produced on Nov. 10. Students interested are encouraged to apply online by Oct. 7.

Bernardi’s return to Brandeis ultimately creates more space for our community to reflect on unification and communication efforts here and throughout the world.

—Editor’s note: The Justice Editor Nemma Kalra ’26 is employed by ENACT and contributed to the reporting of this story. 

— Editor’s Note: Justice Managing Editor Eliza Bier’ 26 was involved in the creation of the original mural and did not contribute to or edit this story.

— Editor’s Note:  Justice Editor in Chief Anna Martin ’26 was involved in creation of the original mural and did not contribute to this story.