{{Short description|American street artist}} '''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.<ref name=":13">{{cite web|last1=Stavsky|first1=Lois|title=Brooklyn-based artist Joel Bergner aka Joel Artista on his recent project with Israeli and Palestinian youth|url=http://streetartnyc.org/blog/2015/08/06/brooklyn-based-artist-and-arts-educator-joel-bergner-aka-joel-artista-on-his-recent-project-with-israeli-and-palestinian-youth/|website=Street Art NYC|accessdate=August 6, 2015}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web|last1=London Calling|title=Joel Bergner Paints the Village Underground|url=https://londoncallingblog.net/2015/09/10/joel-artista-paints-the-village-underground/|website=London Calling Blog|accessdate=September 10, 2015|date=2015-09-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Majtan|first1=Leisha|title=Queens People of the Week Turn Eyesore into Work of Art|url=http://www.ny1.com/nyc/queens/queens-person-of-the-week/2016/05/13/queens-people-of-the-week-turn-eyesore-into-work-of-art.html|accessdate=May 13, 2016|agency=NY1 News}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite book|last= Kiriako̧s|first= Iosifidis|title=Mural Art Volume 3:Murals on Huge Public Surfaces Around the World : from Graffiti to Trompe L'oeil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hH-hcQAACAAJ|work=Publikat Verlags, 2010|isbn= 9783939566281|year= 2008|publisher= Publikat}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite web|last=Falcón|first=Neida Lis|title=Joel Bergner realiza residência artística em Cabo Verde|url=http://asemana.sapo.cv/spip.php?article60930&ak=1|work=A Semana 2011-02-02|access-date=2011-04-05|archive-date=2011-10-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006072239/http://asemana.sapo.cv/spip.php?article60930&ak=1|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Toomey|first=Mandy|title=Mural Lights Way to a Better Life|url=http://streetsense.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/10.26.10.pdf|work=Street Sense 2010-10-26|access-date=2012-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311042404/http://www.streetsense.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/10.26.10.pdf|archive-date=2012-03-11|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":3">{{cite news|last1=Livingston|first1=Ellen|title=Healing and empowering the world – one art project at a time|url=http://www.tc.columbia.edu/articles/2015/december/healing-and-empowering-the-world--one-art-project-at-a-time/|accessdate=December 24, 2015|agency=Teacher's College Newsroom}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{cite news|last1=Gravé-Lazi|first1=Lidar|title=Diplomatic spouses rally to help migrant children in south Tel Aviv|url=https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Diplomatic-spouses-rally-to-help-migrant-children-in-south-Tel-Aviv-455597|accessdate=May 1, 2016|agency=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite web|url=http://www.artolution.org|title=Artolution - International Community-Based Public Arts Movement|website=Artolution|language=en-US|access-date=2016-03-08}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":5">{{cite web|last1=Kerr|first1=Sarah Stein|title=Street Art, Video and Social Change: Joel Bergner Visits WITNESS|url=https://blog.witness.org/2013/08/street-art-video-and-social-change-joel-artista-visits-witness/|website=Witness|date=2013-08-29}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{cite web|last1=Vesen|first1=Daniel|title=The 2016 #AddColorToLives Project|url=https://www.parkinn.com/addingcolor|website=Park Inn by Radisson Blog}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{cite web|last=Nahima|first=Maciel|title=Norte-americano Joel Bergner Percorre o Mundo com o Grafiti de Intervenção|url=http://www.correiobraziliense.com.br/app/noticia/diversao-e-arte/2010/11/29/interna_diversao_arte,225294/norte-americano-joel-bergner-percorre-o-mundo-com-o-grafite-de-intervencao.shtml|work=Correio Braziliense 2010-11-29|date=29 November 2010 }}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":16">{{cite web|last=Tele Turquia|title=Arte Soy: Entrevista con Joel Bergner|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs6u7ZBOC-Y|work= Tele Turquino, Santiago de Cuba 2012-01-18|date=10 February 2012 }}</ref>
== Art activism == 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.<ref name=":6">{{cite news|last1=Anderson|first1=Becky|title=Connect the World: Parting Shot|url=https://www.facebook.com/CNNconnect/videos/10155109631146562/|accessdate=August 2, 2016|agency=CNN|publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{cite news|last1=Mis|first1=Magda|title=Photoblog: Refugees and artists turn camp into art in Jordan|url=http://news.trust.org/item/20130718143956-1b37r|accessdate=July 18, 2013|agency=Thomas Reuters Foundation News}}</ref><ref name=":17">{{cite web |last1=Barry |first1=Orla |title=The Green Room (Ireland) |url=https://joelartista.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/green_room_media_player_audio_file-2.mp3 |website=Newstalk 106-108FM Radio |format=mp3}}</ref><ref name=":5" />
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.<ref name=":18">{{cite web|last1=University of Nottingham|title=Together We Can End Human Trafficking|url=http://antislavery.ac.uk/items/show/135|website=Antislavery Then and Now}}</ref><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":8" />
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.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":14"/><ref name=":13" />
== Art work == Working primarily in spray paint and acrylic paint, Bergner has created large public murals in many US cities and in Brazil, Jordan, India,<ref name=":9">{{cite news |last1=Lad |first1=Devin |title=American mural artist comes to Mumbai to spread the cause of education |agency=DNA India |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/locality/mumbai-north-west/american-mural-artist-comes-mumbai-spread-cause-education-83406 |accessdate=January 27, 2016}}</ref> Cuba, Kenya, Estonia, South Africa, Mexico, Norway, Israel and the Palestinian territories,<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":4" /> Mozambique, Poland, Cape Verde, El Salvador, Germany, the UK, Sweden and Peru.<ref name=":10">{{cite web |last1=Park Inn by Radisson |title=Adding Color To Lives |url=https://www.parkinn.com/addingcolor |website=Park Inn by Radisson Blog}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{cite web|last1=Davies|first1=Dan|title=Joel Bergner: The Bigger Picture|url=http://vuzine.villageunderground.co.uk/joel-bergner/|website=Vu-Zine online magazine|access-date=2016-11-18|archive-date=2016-11-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118172514/http://vuzine.villageunderground.co.uk/joel-bergner/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":12">{{cite web|last1=Herman|first1=Ali|title=The Street Child World Cup|url=http://www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2014/06/24/street-child-world-cup|website=World Policy Blog|accessdate=June 24, 2014|archive-date=June 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626053819/http://www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2014/06/24/street-child-world-cup|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":15" /><ref name=":16" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":14" /><ref name=":18" /><ref name=":8">{{cite web|last1=Diplomom|title=Gee. Bee. Vee.|url=https://diplomom.com/tag/joel-bergner/|website=Diplomomdotcom|accessdate=May 7, 2016|archive-date=November 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118163757/https://diplomom.com/tag/joel-bergner/|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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,<ref>{{cite web |last=US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants |title=Out of Many, One: Q&A with Artist Joel Bergner |url=http://www.refugees.org/refugee-voices/100th-anniversary/qa-with-out-of-many-one.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111204010540/http://www.refugees.org/refugee-voices/100th-anniversary/qa-with-out-of-many-one.html |archive-date=2011-12-04 |access-date=2012-04-26 |work=refugees.org}}</ref> the Boys & Girls Club, UNICEF, Mercy Corps, Park Inn by Radisson Hotels,<ref name=":10" /> Street Child United, WITNESS,<ref name=":5" /> 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.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":12" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Amnesty International|title=Amnesty International: The Human Rights Arts Festival|url=http://www.humanrightsartfestival.com/|work=Amnesty International 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Tomassini|first=Jason|title=In bold brushstrokes, refugees tell their tales|url=http://ww2.gazette.net/stories/06102009/burtnew211430_32527.shtml|work=Gazette 2009-06-10|access-date=2012-04-26|archive-date=2012-09-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908055152/http://ww2.gazette.net/stories/06102009/burtnew211430_32527.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":14" /><ref name=":13" /><ref name=":18" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":8" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /><ref name=":17" />
== Honors == 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.<ref name=":0" /><ref>World Policy article by Ali Herman http://www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2014/06/24/street-child-world-cup {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027221055/http://www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2014/06/24/street-child-world-cup |date=2014-10-27 }}</ref><ref name=":11" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.npr.org/2013/02/19/171916072/kenyas-graffiti-train-seeks-to-promote-a-peaceful-election | title=Kenya's Graffiti Train Seeks to Promote a Peaceful Election| website=NPR| date=19 February 2013| last1=Warner| first1=Gregory}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-934024 | work=CNN | title=Kenya Railway - Graffiti for Peace in Kenya during the Elections - CNN iReport}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.arise.tv/latest/arise-news-27-feb-1183 |title=Arise News 27 Feb - Latest News - ARISE NEWS - London, New York, Johannesburg - Every Culture, Every Angle |access-date=2013-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521023057/http://www.arise.tv/latest/arise-news-27-feb-1183 |archive-date=2013-05-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iJKdQaz_2s3SiIIz3ohYlqOy4_yQ?docId=CNG.ec49572c4964b9d434aff60fad28837c.461 | title=AFP: Kenyan youths campaign for peaceful polls | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130616064728/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iJKdQaz_2s3SiIIz3ohYlqOy4_yQ?docId=CNG.ec49572c4964b9d434aff60fad28837c.461 | archive-date=2013-06-16 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21616945 | work=BBC News | title=Kenya's week in pictures: 22-28 February 2013 | date=2013-03-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.english.rfi.fr/africa/20130227-kibera-fears-repetition-kenyan-election-violence | title=Kibera residents fear repetition of Kenyan election violence| date=27 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://screen.yahoo.com/projects-call-peace-ahead-kenya-170644665.html |title=Projects call for peace ahead of Kenya vote | AFP Videos - Yahoo Screen |access-date=2013-05-17 |archive-date=2014-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028043722/https://screen.yahoo.com/projects-call-peace-ahead-kenya-170644665.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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''.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Siegal|first=Ann|title=Legal Graffiti Artists Create Murals Around DC|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/14/AR2010011401650.html?nav=hcmoduletmv |work=Washington Post 2010-01-15|date=2010-01-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Jacoby|first=Annice|title=Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YYbmPAAACAAJ|work=Abrams Publishing 2009|isbn=9780810996359|date=June 2009|publisher=Harry N. Abrams }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Rivlin|first=Gary|title=Dollars and Dreams: Immigrants as Prey|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/business/yourmoney/11migrate.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all|work=The New York Times 2006-06-11|date=2006-06-11}}</ref> He has been featured on the international news networks Al Jazeera English,<ref>{{cite web |last=Al Jazeera |title=World Refugee Day: The Global Refugee Mural |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8caQ2xo4aI |work=Al Jazeera English 2009-06-20|date=4 August 2009 }}</ref> CNN,<ref name=":6" /> Voice of America,<ref>{{cite web |last=Voice of America |title=Baltimore Mural: Joel Bergner |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j0xHi62GxQ |work=Voice of America Urdu|date=2 December 2011 }}</ref> and BBC World News.<ref>{{cite news|last=BBC|title= Washington DC Street Murals Paint the Town|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/world_news_america/8637972.stm|work= BBC World News 2010-04-22|date=2010-04-22}}</ref>
thumb|center|Jedrus center building,<br />mural designed (2016) by Joel Bergner,<br />6a osiedle Centrum A, Nowa Huta, Krakow, Poland.
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == <ref>{{cite web|url=https://joelartista.com|website=Joel Artista Website|title=Joel Artista}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web|url=http://artolution.org/|website=Artolution website|title=Artolution}}</ref>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergner, Joel}} Category:American street artists Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:American male artists Category:Artists from Brooklyn Category:American muralists Category:American activists