Artist History
Joel Bergner is an award-winning mural artist and educator whose work focuses on social justice, culture, and community issues. His huge murals are brightly- colored, intense and detailed, and are currently on display in many US cities and in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, and Salvador), Cape Verde (West Africa), Cuba, Poland, El Salvador and Peru. Joel's work features a combination of acrylic and spray paint, stencil art and mosaic. He leads workshops with youth from marginalized communities all around the world that focus on combining public art with social issues, studying art history and learning artistic techniques. The youth participate in the design and creation of murals that explore issues important to their communities. Joel has developed a technique he calls "Expressive Group Painting" in which a chaotic background is created with everyone's creative expressions, from abstract splatters to poetry to drawings and hand prints, all of which is then incorporated into the main imagery of the mural. In this way, everyone can be part of the creative process, as opposed to the classic "paint-by-number" approach that most mural projects utilize. Joel also uses an approach to public art that he calls "Journalistic Mural Art," in which he extensively researches his topics, often conducting interviews in order to tell the stories of those whose voices are often not heard, such as refugees and survivors of domestic violence.
Joel’s artwork is heavily inspired by his community-based work in many US cities and abroad, including positions with a variety of non-profit organizations. Joel has taught at a juvenile detention center and has worked with foster youth, the disabled, international refugees, the homeless and the mentally ill. He spent 4 years counseling youth who were struggling with issues such as violence, prostitution, suicide and drugs in a treatment center in California. Joel taught English and Art in El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, and in the shantytowns of Brazil (favelas) and speaks Spanish and Portuguese fluently. He was an International Election Observer for the 2004 presidential election in El Salvador.
Joel grew up in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, where he had a passion for art even as a young child. He spent many years living in Chicago in the Mexican-American community Pilsen, which greatly influenced his direction as an artist. After years of creating his own personal artwork, he painted his first public mural in a cafe after his friend who worked there convinced the owner to allow him to paint the wall. In 2002, after spending time in the Dominican Republic doing volunteer work and then working in New Orleans, Joel moved to San Francisco's Mission District, a vibrant community with a reputation for "the most public art per capita in the world," which was a big influence on him. Knowing no one and with no job prospects, he spent many rough months living in his car and job hunting. One bright spot during this period was the opportunity to paint his first outdoor mural, which led the way to a series of self-funded murals around the neighborhood, which were all featured in the book "Street Art San Francisco: Mission Muralismo." During this time he developed his style as a mural artist and worked as a counselor for troubled youth in a treatment center.
Joel then spent several years in Washington DC, though his art and community-based work have often take him to other cities and countries for months at a time. Since 2005 he has been to Brazil many times, and usually spends part of his year living and working there. He often stays with a community of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé in Salvador da Bahia, which has been an inspiration for his life and the artistic imagery and style of his work. He also regularly lives and works in Rio de Janeiro in the famous favela (shanty town) City of God, where he stays with a local family with whom he is close. His work in the City of God has included teaching Art and English and doing mural projects with teenagers through a local church and various youth organizations. He has also led community mural projects in El Salvador, Cape Verde (West Africa), Poland, Peru, and participated in two international mural festivals in Cuba.
As a teenager Joel experienced several difficult years and became a father while still in high school. Although the relationship did not work out with his son's mother, Joel has maintained a close relationship with his son ever since and has always been active in his life. His son has moved often because his stepfather is in the military, and Joel has often traveled long distances to see him and even moved across the country several times in order to live close enough to visit regularly. His challenging experiences as a teenager have greatly influenced his community work with youth, as he empathizes with their struggles and helps give them hope for the future. Joel counseled youth in a treatment center for severely emotionally disturbed adolescents in California for 4 years, worked with foster youth in DC and has led many youth mural projects and art workshops, including in a juvenile detention center in Maryland.
Joel then spent several years in Washington DC, though his art and community-based work have often take him to other cities and countries for months at a time. Since 2005 he has been to Brazil many times, and usually spends part of his year living and working there. He often stays with a community of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé in Salvador da Bahia, which has been an inspiration for his life and the artistic imagery and style of his work. He also regularly lives and works in Rio de Janeiro in the famous favela (shanty town) City of God, where he stays with a local family with whom he is close. His work in the City of God has included teaching Art and English and doing mural projects with teenagers through a local church and various youth organizations. He has also led community mural projects in El Salvador, Cape Verde (West Africa), Poland, Peru, and participated in two international mural festivals in Cuba.
As a teenager Joel experienced several difficult years and became a father while still in high school. Although the relationship did not work out with his son's mother, Joel has maintained a close relationship with his son ever since and has always been active in his life. His son has moved often because his stepfather is in the military, and Joel has often traveled long distances to see him and even moved across the country several times in order to live close enough to visit regularly. His challenging experiences as a teenager have greatly influenced his community work with youth, as he empathizes with their struggles and helps give them hope for the future. Joel counseled youth in a treatment center for severely emotionally disturbed adolescents in California for 4 years, worked with foster youth in DC and has led many youth mural projects and art workshops, including in a juvenile detention center in Maryland.
