Curated Library

Recommended Resources

A personal collection of books, films, talks, and podcasts that have shaped my thinking and practice in participatory arts and social justice.

Recommended Resources

Books, articles, reports, and essays that have influenced my understanding of participatory arts, social justice, and community practice.

Book 1995

Mapping the Terrain: New Genre Public Art

Suzanne Lacy

A foundational text that maps the emergence of socially engaged art practice, exploring how artists work with communitie...

Public Art Community Engagement Social Practice

This book fundamentally shaped how I think about art in public spaces and community contexts.

Book 2011

The One and the Many: Contemporary Collaborative Art

Grant Kester

An exploration of collaborative art practices around the world, examining how artists work with communities through dial...

Collaborative Art Dialogical Aesthetics Global Practice

Kester provides a thoughtful framework for understanding dialogical aesthetics in participatory work...

Book 2012

Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship

Claire Bishop

A critical examination of participatory art from the 1990s to the present, questioning the ethics and aesthetics of soci...

Participatory Art Critical Theory Spectatorship

Bishop challenges us to think critically about what makes participatory art meaningful. Not everyone...

Article 1958

Culture is Ordinary

Raymond Williams

A seminal essay arguing that culture is not the preserve of an elite but is created and lived by ordinary people in thei...

Cultural Democracy Working Class Culture Everyday Life

Williams reminds us that culture belongs to everyone. This essay has informed my practice for decade...

Book 2003

Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope

bell hooks

bell hooks explores how we can build beloved community through teaching and learning, emphasising the transformative pow...

Pedagogy Community Building Transformative Education

hooks writes with such clarity about creating spaces where everyone can learn and grow together.

Book 1990

We Make the Road by Walking

Myles Horton & Paulo Freire

A conversation between two pioneering educators about their approaches to social change through education and community ...

Popular Education Social Change Community Organising

This dialogue between Horton and Freire is inspiring and practical in equal measure. I return to it ...

Book 1968

Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Paulo Freire

The foundational text on critical pedagogy, arguing for education as a practice of freedom and a tool for social transfo...

Critical Pedagogy Liberation Education

Essential reading for anyone working in participatory practice. Freire changed how I understand the ...

"Culture is ordinary: that is where we must start. To grow up in that country was to see the shape of a culture, and its modes of change."

— Raymond Williams, Culture is Ordinary (1958)

Watching & Listening

Films, documentaries, talks, and podcasts that offer powerful perspectives on art, community, and social change.

Film 2010 87 min

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Banksy

A documentary that explores street art, commercialisation, and the nature of art itself through the story of Thierry Gue...

Street Art Authenticity Art World

A witty and provocative film that asks important questions about authenticity and who gets to be cal...

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Film 2016 93 min

I Am Not Your Negro

Raoul Peck

Based on James Baldwin's unfinished manuscript, this powerful documentary explores the history of racism in America...

Racism Civil Rights James Baldwin

Baldwin's words feel as urgent today as they were decades ago. This film is essential viewing f...

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Film 2010 99 min

Waste Land

Lucy Walker

Follows artist Vik Muniz as he works with catadores (recyclable material pickers) in the world's largest landfill t...

Participatory Art Social Transformation Brazil

A beautiful example of how participatory art can create dignity, recognition, and genuine transforma...

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Film 2018 99 min

They Shall Not Grow Old

Peter Jackson

A documentary about World War I using restored and colourised archival footage, bringing the voices and experiences of s...

World War I Memory Documentary

An extraordinary example of how technology can serve storytelling and help us connect with histories...

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Talk 2009 19 min

The Danger of a Single Story

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Adichie speaks about how single narratives create stereotypes and how embracing multiple stories creates understanding a...

Storytelling Representation Identity

I share this talk in almost every training session. It articulates so clearly why diverse voices and...

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Talk 2010 20 min

The Power of Vulnerability

Brené Brown

A talk about connection, belonging, and the courage to be vulnerable as the foundation for authentic human connection.

Vulnerability Connection Courage

Brown's research on vulnerability has deeply influenced how I think about creating safe spaces ...

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Talk 2015 17 min

How to Revive a Neighborhood: With Imagination, Beauty and Art

Theaster Gates

Artist Theaster Gates discusses how he transforms abandoned buildings and spaces on Chicago's South Side into centr...

Urban Regeneration Community Art Place-making

Gates demonstrates how art can be infrastructure for community transformation, not just decoration.

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Podcast 2003 Ongoing

On Being with Krista Tippett

Krista Tippett

A podcast exploring the big questions of meaning, faith, ethics, and what it means to be human through conversations wit...

Meaning Spirituality Conversation

Tippett's interviews model the kind of deep, generous listening that is at the heart of good fa...

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Podcast 2000 Ongoing

The Documentary

BBC World Service

In-depth audio documentaries from around the world, exploring global issues, cultures, and human stories with nuance and...

Global Issues Storytelling Documentary

Consistently excellent storytelling that brings global perspectives and voices to life through sound...

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"Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize."

— Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Danger of a Single Story

Resources

Films

Talks

Podcasts

Have a Recommendation?

Know a great book, film, or resource that should be on this list? I would love to hear about it and expand this collection.

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