The Fabric of Communities

Caitlin Bruce

Public art is fundamental to the fabric of communities, says Caitlin Bruce, associate professor of communication in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Her work exploring how murals and graffiti vivify public spaces has led to jaunts through streets and alleys all over the world, as far away as Paris, France, and as close as the neighborhoods surrounding Pitt’s campus.

“When people talk about the impact of public art in an area, they often speak of positive, energetic shifts in their neighborhoods. The art can invite viewers to experience a kind of warmth, intimacy, and joy,” Bruce says. 

Her forthcoming book, “Voices in Aerosol: Youth Culture, Institutional Attunement and Graffiti in Urban Mexico,” is a case study of a Mexican city government’s shifting relationship with graffiti artists over an 18-year period. Bruce chronicles what happened when writers and officials in León, Mexico, introduced a legal graffiti program and its bearing on urban planning, local politics, and gentrification.

Bruce has contributed to Pittsburgh’s public art scene not just as a scholar but also as an incubator. In 2016, she co-founded “Hemispheric Conversations: Urban Art Program” with multidisciplinary creators to provide educational opportunities to youths and adults and create a framework where scholars and street artists can converse about the aesthetics of urban art production. 

A 2022-23 Pitt Momentum Funds Priming Grant fosters her work with Hemispheric Conversations, telling visual stories about Pittsburgh communities grappling with crisis and attempting to heal.