The Open Studio: Exploring Immigrant and Refugee Youth Experiences of Belonging through Community-Based Arts Practice

Abstract

The Open Studio is a publicly accessible art-making space grounded in ideals of collaborative community development, Adlerian theory, social justice, and feminist thoughts. Our project involved visual art-making and exploring high school immigrant students’ experiences of inclusion and belonging. The purpose was to help immigrant and refugee youth to adapt to a city in Newfoundland, where newcomers often face an insider/outsider dynamic of disconnection. The Open Studio was structured along seven parameters: focus on intentional art-making; no judgmental commentary (positive or negative); non-evaluative in nature; no forced participation, including witnessing and sharing; and as importantly, participatory involvement of facilitators. The participant-planned and hosted final school exhibit contributed to learning, sharing, and group cohesiveness. A plain language needs assessment, semi-structured interviews, and focus group, were also used to generate data on how an Open Studio informs cultural experiences and feelings of integration and belonging. Keywords: Immigrant and refugee youth, art-making, belonging, integration