Wild Fire: Art as Activism [Paperback]

Deborah Barndt (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2006

This collection of seventeen essays and illustrations brings together artists and activists who share a passion for art as well as politics, community and social change. The contributors have created a wide variety of energetic and original artistic projects through which they explore the tensions between academic work, politics and activism. The essays are grouped into the four major themes of social empowerment and transformation, healing, activism and environmental awareness. The projects discussed include painting murals with youths at risk; producing theatre with new immigrants; creating art with immigrant women and children; storytelling and literacy; publishing immigrant women's stories and experiences; street performance as political resistance; and environmental installations.

Each essay demonstrates that a critical artistic vision crosses many boundaries to inspire not only our imaginations but also social and environmental movements.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

About the Editor: Deborah Barndt is Associate Dean of Environmental Studies at York University. She is a published author and photographer and has worked for over thirty years with social justice movements in Canada, the U.S. and Central America. Her book Women Working the Nafta Food Chain was published by Sumach Press.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Sumach Press (May 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1894549554
• ISBN-13: 978-1894549554
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,294,443 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Inseparability of Art & Social Change, August 5, 2009

By 

Trismegista Taylor "Interfaith Minister" (Petaluma, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wild Fire: Art as Activism (Paperback)

This review was originally published on the Arts and Healing Network - [...]

This is a wonderful collection of personal essays written by artists and activists who share their stories and experiences of creating and teaching with a focus on the inseparability of art and social change. The book is broken up into four parts: Art in Social Movements; Art as Activism; Eco Art; and Art Heals, with each chapter sharing an intimate, first-hand account by the artists themselves.

This collection spans the globe and exhibits a variety of writing styles, from Petra Kukacka's stream of consciousness piece "Mixing Metaphors" to more academic dissertations like Stephanie Conway & Julia Winckler's "Acts of Embodiment," to Oona Padgham's straight interview-styled piece "Arts in Detention." It also covers a range of artistic projects - from mural paintings, photography, zine-making, and alternative publishing, to street theater, puppetry, and protest singing. Both triumphs and failures are shared in this collection, which as an artist myself, I find wonderfully inspiring and helpful. I really enjoyed reading about the act of creating community art in the heart of the struggles that go on every day in our world.

The book includes a few black and white photos, but I would have loved to see images attached to each project. Unfortunately, there are no websites listed for further information about these artists and their projects.

I highly recommend these dynamic essays to activists, artists, educators, students, and community workers who share a passion for art, politics, and social change. It's also a wonderful collection for anyone interested in exploring community art, art as activism or funding community art projects.