international
The following groups are international social service organizations that use arts-integration as part of their service for displaced populations. These groups or projects use creative arts interventions specifically designed for displaced people -- refugees, immigrants, IDPs and asylum seekers.
The arts are increasingly being used in social services for displaced populations because:
The arts are increasingly being used in social services for displaced populations because:
- Art has the ability to externalize the internal without the use of words particularly with children and those facing language barriers;
- Art-making allows people to tap into their inner identity and develop individual creative expression which helps them adjust in their new environment;
- Art-making experiences help affirm the individual and the culture from where they came while helping to develop a vision of what they can be and where they want to be;
- In group settings, participants develop new friends and trusting relationships through collaboration which can include collaborative art-making, the sharing of art work and dialogue (from course Wiki).
1. Art for Refugees in Transition (ART)
ART is an international organization with a mission to help “rebuild individual and community identity for refugees worldwide.” ART brings children, adults, and elders together to create visual and performing arts projects drawing from their own cultures and traditions help helping refugee communities cope with the trauma, terror and dislocation of war and natural disaster. ART's initial pilot program was partnership with the International Rescue Committee and was launched in two Burmese refugee camps in Thailand in 2003.
http://www.artforrefugees.org/about.html
http://www.artforrefugees.org/about.html
2. The Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) Youth Network
CCR was launched in June 2006 at the International Conference on Refugee Rights and now offers online discussions and teleconferences, youth-led workshops and strategy sessions, and the development of youth-driven projects in Canada. The Youth Network’s vision is to promote youth inclusion and address challenges faced by refugee and immigrant youth. For several years the CCR Youth Network has been partnering with different individuals and organizations in order to provide “photovoice” workshops. Photovoice combines photography with grassroots social action. In a photovoice project, participants are asked to represent their community or express their point of view by photographing a variety of scenes.
http://www.ccrweb.ca/eng/about/youth.htm
http://www.ccrweb.ca/eng/about/youth.htm
3. Vortcs
VoRTCS ["vor-tex"] also known as the Volunteer Refugee Tutoring and Community Support Program, is a non-profit, volunteer-run program of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Based in South Brisbane, Australia, VoRTCS has a Refugee Tutoring program, which provides free in-home English language support and also runs several other programs aimed at assisting refugee families to settle into life in Australia. The Refugee+Art program provides short series of free art classes for members of the refugee community in a variety of artistic disciplines, including painting, puppet-making, kite-making and drawing cartoons. Classes are conducted by experienced artists and usually involve a central theme for the series of classes, such as hope, family or courage. Classes are conducted in English in order for participants to enhance their English language skills through story-telling and group sharing, as well as make new friends within the refugee community.
http://www.refugeetutoring.org/home/
http://www.refugeetutoring.org/home/
4. African Immigrant and Refugee Foundation (AIRF)
AIRF, based in Washington, DC, exists to facilitate the effective transition of African immigrants to American society and to support their productive, sustainable integration into their new homeland. Youth ArtBeat AIRF offers arts and cultural enrichment programs during the summer months. The purpose this camp is to expand the network of resources and activities available for youth, particularly African immigrants. The camp explores traditional and contemporary visual, literary and performing art forms while working with master teaching artists and mentors. Included were workshops in health and fitness, African dance, drumming, storytelling, basket-weaving, and bead-making.
www.airfound.org
www.airfound.org
5. tadamon!
Tadamon! a networking organization based in Canada, aims to promote the welfare of and mutual coexistence between marginalized refugees and their Egyptian neighbors by helping coordinate cooperative efforts. This project focuses on assisting peace-building organizations to utilize the untapped resources of the refugee art community to foster cultural exchange and develop comprehensive, scalable art-based trainings that decrease ethnic tension. Tadamon! (“Solidarity” in Arabic) is dedicated to promoting peace between Egyptian and African communities in Cairo, Egypt. The organization bridges the gaps in peace-building initiatives by collaborating with such organizations as UNHCR, African and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA), and Townhouse Gallery. Art provides a medium for individuals from different backgrounds to learn about one another in an environment where stereotypes are challenged by the mutual pursuit of creativity.
www.tadamon.ca
www.tadamon.ca
6. The Za’atari Project
In partnership with aptART, ACTED, UNICEF, ECHO and Mercy Corps, artist Joel Artista has traveled to Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan for the past three years to work with a team of Syrian refugees. The project features workshops with Syrian refugee children currently living in that camp that focus not only on art but educational topics. Refugee children are given the opportunity to learn about topics such as hygiene and sanitation issues in the camp and a variety of artistic techniques. The young refugees participate in the creation of murals across the camp, paint wheelbarrows and tents and create kites. The project also explores “conflict resolution; their hopes and dreams for the future of their country and themselves; their nostalgia for everything and everyone that they’ve lost in the war; and the importance of building.”
http://joelartista.com/syrian-refugees-the-zaatari-project-jordan/
http://joelartista.com/syrian-refugees-the-zaatari-project-jordan/
7. Exile Voices
In December 2013, world renowned artist Reza traveled to a camp of Syrian refugees located in Iraqi Kurdistan and established a photography workshop for the children of the camp aged from 11 – 15. This trip was the birth of the Exile Voices project, which has now grown into a five-year joint project with the UNHCR, and through which he is working to provide workshops for young people in refugee camps throughout the world.
https://maptia.com/reza/stories/exile-voices
https://maptia.com/reza/stories/exile-voices
8. skoun
Founded in 2001, Skoun Lebanese Addictions Center is a nonprofit organization that offers preventative and rehabilitative treatment to drug users. Skoun's prevention program targets youth in an open and non-judgmental way, involving parents, educators and health care providers in their work. One way they aim to help refugee youth is through art therapy within schools. “We are offering them the opportunity to express themselves freely, without judgment, without evaluation of their work.” says Anita Toutikian, a Psychosocial Counselor based in Beirut, Lebanon. “One can’t help but wonder what some of the young adults who have fled the war might paint given a darker palette, but that answer isn’t for today. “When they’re happy, they all become children,” says Toutikian.
www.skoun.org
www.skoun.org
9. Castle art
The project, Castle Art was spearheaded by a small humanitarian organization called Rise Foundation. Once a week, the foundation has helped the children of Akre, Iraq, by providing them with spray cans and rollers – in order to “express the emotions and creativity they might otherwise have to repress” These simple supplies bringing color, energy, and hope to the walls of the refugee camp in Akré, Dohuk. “Castle Art was established in order to enhance the sense of community within the imposing and uninspiring structure that is now home to hundreds of families,” explains Rise director Tom Robinson. “It provides a unique creative outlet for these young, aspiring artists.”
http://castleartproject.tumblr.com/AboutUs
http://castleartproject.tumblr.com/AboutUs
10. Paint Outside the Lines
To encourage children to express themselves and provide a public platform for their voices a regional street art project, Paint Outside the Lines, was implemented across the Kurdistan region of Iraq in camps for both Syrian refugees and internally displaced Iraqis. The project empowers young people with a creative outlet in their own communities, while also providing a platform for their voices in the international community through exhibitions of their original works in Brussels and Paris.
http://www.acted.org/en/paint-outside-lines
http://www.acted.org/en/paint-outside-lines
There are typically two types of population displacement resulting from development:
- direct displacement, which leads to actual displacement of people from their locations and
- indirect displacement, which leads to a loss of livelihood. People must leave the place where they are emotionally attached and have the knowledge to make a living most effectively. When forced to leave the home region, displaced populations often become impoverished.