Community Art in Eco-Socially Challenged Territories: Co-Creating Futures in l’Horta Sud

Community art, as a participatory and transformative practice, offers significant potential for addressing eco-social injustices in territories shaped by historical exploitation and vulnerability. This article examines a community art process initiated in May 2024 in collaboration with the Fundació Horta Sud and twelve local associations in l'Horta Sud, a Valencian comarca profoundly affected by the eco-social crisis. Framed within a Feminist Action Research methodology, the project aimed to strengthen the associative fabric, foster collective reflection, and develop shared visions for the future. The process was interrupted by the devastating DANA that struck the region in October 2024, highlighting the urgency of transformative responses. This event, underscores the compounded impacts of climate change and systemic vulnerabilities linked to a socio-economic model prioritizing neoliberal growth. The project seeks to address the collective repair of the territory and the aftermath of the DANA in 2025. This process emphasizes the role of community art as a platform for resilience, collective agency, and envisioning reparative futures. However, its transformative potential is contingent on critically addressing entrenched power structures and ensuring meaningful impacts. This article highlights the methodological value of community art in confronting eco-social crises while recognizing the challenges and limitations inherent in such initiatives. Ultimately, it advocates for sustained collective efforts and alliances that transcend artistic action, valuing the process as a critical component of systemic change.