Voices in the Art

The newcomer youth population in Canada continues to increase, with their own set of stressors upon arrival. In particular, LGBTQIA2S+ newcomer youth may need to consider additional factors relating to their personal relationships, gender identity and expression, and gender-based violence (GBV). The Voices in the Art (VIA) project explores these complex and multifaceted issues from the perspectives of the youth themselves, through art.

Project Information

What is VIA?

The Voices in Arts (VIA) project will utilize an arts-based engagement ethnography (ABEE; Goopy & Kassan, 2019) method to understand newcomer LGBTQIA2S+ youth’s social lives, cultural practices, the complexity of their experiences regarding gender-based violence (GBV), and their intersecting identities. This project will also explore how newcomer LGBTQIA2S+ youth interact and relate to their families, peers, and friends about such topics.

The youth participants will be involved in an arts-based task of exploring and reflecting on their identity and familial relationships through the 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 LGBTQIA2S+ youth to visually display their experiences coping with gender identification, during and after being introduced to this methodology.

What are the aims of VIA?

The aim of this project is to:

• Empower participants, create a strong sense of belonging, and develop a safe space for having conversations regarding GBV, intersecting identities, and how to seek support within the community.
• Create an arts-based resource to help youth with intersecting identities build stronger, more affirming relationships.

Why is this important?

Youth aged 15-24 is the second fastest-growing group of newcomers in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2023). Studies indicate that settlement in a new country during adolescence comes with a unique set of challenges (Shakya et al., 2010). Though research on migration is not scarce, studies focusing on the experiences of GBV of LGBTQIA2S+ newcomer youth are limited or non-existent, with studies rarely considering the perspective of the youth themselves. Additionally, LGBTQIA2S+ youth are disproportionately targeted by GBV in school, family, and other settings, and the risk is increased for immigrant or second-generation youth.

Strong, affirming familial and peer relationships could be protective factors for LGBTQIA2S+ newcomer youth. However, family and friends play a specific, yet poorly understood role in the well-being and safety of this population. Hence, this project is important as it provides a unique opportunity to explore and understand LGBTQIA2S+ newcomer youth’s lived experiences with GBV and their identities from their perspective. Further understanding of how LGBTQIA2S+ 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.

Research Overview

Methods

This project will be conducted in three stages.

Research and Development of Implementation Tools

Dissemination of a survey focusing on intersectional identities and experiences with GBV in the LGBTQIA2S+ newcomer youth population.

Engagement with local LGBTQIA2S+ newcomer youth and involvement with several community-based organizations/groups.

Recruitment of participants based on their eligibility and consent.

• A total of four groups of participants will be recruited, ages 14-24, with a recent family experience of immigration and either identifying as LGBTQIA2S+ or exploring their sexual and/or gender identities.

Implementing 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 given prompts (starting point) to examine aspects of their lives and relationships relating to intersecting identity and communicating with parents and/or peers.

Activity progress will be monitored and participants will be interviewed to share the meanings they have attributed behind the visual artifacts they created and how they can be used to facilitate conversations about their identity with family members and peers in the future.

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, confidence, and empowerment in participants as they can have their voices heard, seen, and celebrated.
• The exhibition will also be a way to raise public awareness surrounding the experiences of LGBTQIA2S+ newcomer youth and show how arts-based activities can be used to explore and communicate the intersections of gender and identity.

References

Goopy, S. & Kassan, A. (2019). Arts-based engagement ethnography: An approach for making research engaging and knowledge transferable when working with harder-to-reach communities. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 18, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406918820424

Shakya, Y. B., Khanlou, N., & Gonsalves, T. (2010). Determinants of mental health for newcomer youth: Policy and service implications. Canadian Issues, 98-102.

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.