Art for art’s sake — or for what?

“Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”
― Cesar A. Cruz

We start from that provocation: if art can both console and unsettle, what role do we want it to play in our communities? At Urpi Collective we believe art is neither a luxury nor mere decoration; it’s a tool to name what hurts, link memories, and open conversations that might otherwise never happen. When art is woven into everyday life—through objects, stories, and popular knowledges—it becomes a bridge between generations, territories, and struggles.

We work on projects made with people: workshops where neighbors bring photographs and songs; audio pieces that recover almost-forgotten voices; co-designed exhibitions that place local experiences in dialogue with transnational narratives. We also support initiatives led by other groups that advance social justice, gender equality, intergenerational exchange, and cross-border demands for repair. The question is not only what art produces, but with whom we produce it and what it serves afterwards.

Community collaboration requires concrete practices: active listening, agreements about confidentiality, informed consent, and collective decisions on how to make stories visible. That process transforms the artistic object into an ethical space where creation strengthens community, memory, and the capacity to act. It isn’t always comfortable—making people uneasy is often part of the work when justice is at stake.

With this reflection, we invite you to think and to join: what stories, objects, or practices could we put in dialogue to learn together? If you have a piece, a memory, an idea, or want to help organize a workshop, contact us — sharing, listening, and co-creating are the first steps toward projects that make art serve lives with dignity.