Art, education, and engagement: intersectionality and art as ways to confront symbolic violence against black women.
Intersectionality; Art/Education; Symbolic violence; Black women; Action research.
This work ommunity na action research ommuni developed at the Alice Garcia Freire Municipal School in Bom Jesus/RN, which investigates how na intersectional perspective can be mobilized in art education to promote critical reflections among students about the symbolic violence affecting Black women in their daily school and social lives. Based on authors such as Akotirene, Collins, Gonzalez, Kilomba, and Adichie, the research discussed race, gender, and culture from the perspective of the articulation between Art/Education and Black epistemologies, recognizing that understanding these intersections is essential to overcome naturalized practices of ommuni and sexism in schools. Methodologically, this work is structured in two cycles of action research, which included planning, intervention, observation, and continuous evaluation, culminating in the realization of the Art and Culture Week in 2024 and the Art, Culture, and Knowledge Week in 2025. These events integrated ommunity artistic languages and dialogues with the women’s quilombola cultural group Flores do Quilombo, from the Capoeiras ommunity in Macaíba/RN, expanding the aesthetic and political experiences of the classes involved. The analysis of quantitative and qualitative data shows a significant advance in the students’ understanding of intersectional discrimination, allowing them to identify forms of symbolic violence often naturalized in their daily lives, while strengthening feelings of belonging, self-esteem, and positive recognition of their racial identities. The results indicate that art, omm approached critically and in dialogue with the social reality of the subjects, produces epistemological and affective shifts capable of transforming students’ perception of themselves and the world they inhabit, contributing to na anti-racist education committed to social justice. The research also demonstrates that pedagogical practices that engage with ommunity knowledge, particularly Afro-Brazilian traditions, favor the creation of more democratic school environments, sensitive to diversity and open to historically invisibilized narratives. The study concludes that intersectionality, articulated with art education, is a tool for understanding and confronting structural oppressions that affect Black women, in addition to pointing to future possibilities for theoretical and methodological deepening, such as the connection between intersectionality and symbolic violence, aiming at more detailed analyses of how discriminatory practices operate covertly in the school environment.