"I know of no other empirical study of community arts that is so widespread and executed so thoroughly."

                                                                                  —Eugene Van Erven, Utrecht University, Netherlands

The book focuses on participatory artistic practices, with South of Europe and Latin America as the central geographical context for analysis. The book aims to redefine and explore key concepts such as community art practices, civic and political participation, and cultural and artistic involvement. Through in-depth case studies, the work (re)examines the elements of community artistic practices and the quality of artistic and cultural participation, particularly in the context of Brazilian and Portuguese theatre groups.