Guernica

Picasso’s Guernica captured his fury in response to the innocent Basque village of Guernica being destroyed by the German Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War. This painting became the template for the Guernica Children’s Peace Mural Project, developed by art educators to facilitate change by guiding children who are experiencing strife to redirect their frustrations into a transformative message of peace. This chapter provides a succinct examination of Picasso and the painting that captured the destruction of a peaceful village. Following this, an in-depth conversation with one of the founders of the Children’s Peace Mural Project, Dr. Tom Anderson, is presented along with a comprehensive review gleaned from the literature. This chapter ultimately explores how one painting provided the blueprint for how art can help children develop connections and help allay the powerlessness, fear, frustration, and anxiety derived from overwhelming circumstances.