Voices in the Art (VIA)

Project Overview

The VIA project will utilize an Arts-Based Engagement Ethnography (ABEE) method to understand newcomer 2SLGBTQIA+ youth’s social lives, cultural practices, and the complexity of their experiences regarding gender-based violence (GBV) and intersecting identities. This project will also explore how newcomer 2SLGBTQIA+ youth interact and relate to their families, peers, and friends about such topics. Additionally, the project aims to create an arts-based resource that will support youth with intersecting identities in how to move towards stronger, more affirming relationships.

The youth participants will be involved in an arts-based task of exploring and reflecting on their identity and familial relationships through a journal of visual artifacts. Participants can select any art medium such as drawing, painting or photography to create their journals. This methodology will invite newcomer 2SLGBTQIA+ youth to visually display their experiences coping with gender identification, during and after being introduced to this methodology.  

Project Aim

The aim of this project is to empower participants, create a strong sense of belonging, develop a safe space for having conversations regarding GBV, intersecting identities, and how to seek support within the community.

Why is this important?

Youth aged 15-24 is the second fastest-growing group of newcomers in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2023). Studies indicate that resettling in a new country during adolescence comes with a unique set of challenges. Though research on migration is not scarce, studies focusing on the experiences of GBV of 2SLGBTQIA+ newcomer youth are limited or non-existent, with existing studies rarely considering the perspective of the youth themselves. Additionally, 2SLGBTQIA+ youth are disproportionately targeted by gender-based violence in school, family, and other settings. The risk is increased for immigrant or second-generation youth. Strong affirming familial and peer relationships can be protective factors for 2SLGBTQIA+ newcomer youth, however family and friends play a specific, yet poorly understood role in the well-being and safety. This project is important as it provides a unique opportunity to explore and understand 2SLGBTQIA+ newcomer youth’s lived experiences with GBV and their identities from their perspective. Further understanding how 2SLGBTQIA+ newcomer youth relate and communicate about such topics within their social networks is crucial to supporting youth and helping them move towards stronger interpersonal relationships.

This project will be conducted in 3 stages:

1. Research and development of implementation tools

• A survey will be disseminated focusing on intersectional identities, and experiences with GBV in the 2SLGBTQIA+ newcomer youth population will be deployed.  
• This project will engage local Calgarian 2SLGBTQIA+ newcomer youth and the project will connect with several community-based organizations/groups, such as Calgary Outlink, The End of the Rainbow Foundation, Calgary Pride, Skipping Stone, Queermunity at The Alex Youth Health Centre. A total of four groups of 10-12 participants per group will be recruited over 1.4 years, ages 14-24, with a recent family experience of immigration and either identifying as 2SLGBTQIA+ or exploring their sexual and/or gender identities. Participants will be recruited based on their eligibility and consent.  

2. Implementing these tools into practice

• Each participant will create a journal of visual artifacts over a four-month period – while free to explore and attribute their own meanings. Participants will be provided with stationery and art supplies e.g., journals, polaroid cameras, film etc.  
• Participants will be given prompts (starting point) to examine aspects of their lives and relationships relating to intersecting identity and communicating with parents and/or peers.
• Progress of this activity will be monitored through a series of three interviews (at the start, midway, and at the end). Participants will be interviewed to share the meanings they have attributed behind the visual artifacts they have created and how they can be used in the future to facilitate conversations about their identity with family members and peers.  

3. Dissemination of project results and best practices

• At the end of the implementation stage, all participants will be given the opportunity to showcase their visual artifacts in a community space in the form of an art exhibition. The exhibition will help further establish a sense of belonging and empowerment.
• The exhibition will also be a way to raise public awareness surrounding the experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ newcomer youth and show how arts-based activities can be used to explore and communicate the intersections of gender and identity.  

References

Statistics Canada. (2023). Census profile, 2021 census of population.

https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&GENDERlist=1&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0&DGUIDlist=2021A00054806016.

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