Why is art important for refugee children?

For refugee children, art-making experiences within the BuildaBridge Classroom model have helped them identify adjustment strategies, build on their personal strengths and build resiliency in a new culture.

S is a 10-year old Bhutanese refugee girl who has been attending BuildaBridge groups since they started in August 2011 with almost near perfect attendance. In the almost three years of her attending groups, through art-making, S has made significant progress in all of the BuildaBridge outcome areas (social, character development, artistic and academic). As an illustration of the development of her social skills, S has improved relations with her younger brother with whom she is often competitive. This has been an ongoing growth area the therapists have been addressing. During the past two years, S has physically participated less in the movement experiences when other girls are not in attendance. During this third year of programming and as an illustration of her increased character development and artistic skills, S now participates fully and with consistent rhythm even when she is the only girl in the group. With regard to the visual arts, S would often rush to create as many pieces as possible. Therapists revealed this year that she is savoring the process of completing one, quality piece of art. One of the most significant ways S has progressed in her development is the recognition and explanation of her past. On November 17, 2013, the art therapist noted in her assessment, “This session is the first group that S has ever explicitly talked about the move from Nepal to Philadelphia. Her discussions of topics like these have deepened in thoughtfulness.” It is on this foundation that therapists continue to work with S through art-making experiences on exploring her past, her traumas and her dreams for the future.

Nothing lasts forever

Teaching artist assistant Robert Kelleher works with a child on his project

For the past several weeks in the Bhutanese movement and visual art group we have been discovering and unfolding the metaphor that just as some art materials create art work that is impermanent, semi-permanent, and permanent, there are things in life that are impermanent, semi-permanent, and permanent. The last two group sessions have focused on permanent art. The children have been imprinting sculpey clay with the soles of shoes and other found objects, that we then bake and bring back to them. The children have started the process of writing narrative stories about their "artifact" sculptures using words and symbols. As they explore how their sculptures have hardened and become permanent (unless broken), they have connected the idea that they also leave artifacts of themselves and can have a permanent imprint on the world.

Children shared that by helping each other, caring for others, and sharing things with their siblings, they leave a positive imprint. Just this last session we talked about the life long imprint they would like to leave, children began expressing all of the things they would like to be as they grow up. Some responses included a rock star, the president, a teacher, an artist, and a few are interested in becoming doctors who help to heal people. Children have been continually working on the social skills of collaboration, turn-taking, respecting one another, honoring their personal space and sharing public space, sharing materials and ideas, and listening and welcoming others. The children are challenged to do these things in every ritual, transition, and art experience throughout our sessions.

We have also been exploring the life cycle of the Monarch Butterfly, particularly the migration and metamorphosis patterns. We have also learned that while the life of the Monarch is constantly changing and they are often migrating they also have a lasting effect or imprint on the environment. Children have collaboratively choreographed dances using the composition skills of beginning, middle, and end, original creative movement invention, and props to tell the story of their own imagined butterflies. The dances tell of butterflies who find long lost friends, butterflies who had to leave their homes to find the food they needed to grow, butterflies who have lost their parents, butterflies who go north, then south, then north, then south, and butterflies who bring joy to the places they go. The children observed one another's dances as an audience at a professional performance, creating a stage space and an audience space and clapping eloquently for one another.  -- written by Julia Crawford, Lead Therapeutic Movement Instructor

Featured on WHYY

BuildaBridge’s collaborative partner for the Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience (PPR), Nationalities Service Center (NSC), was interviewed by WHYY Staff about the immigrants with whom they work.  One of the clients interviewed for the piece, which aired Friday, February 14th, discussed her participation in one of the BuildaBridge art-making groups.  Listen to the interview here. The piece regarding NSC and BuildaBrige begins at time marker 16:40.

Philadelphia Inquirer features project

Philadelphia Inquirer writer Michael Matza features one of the sub-projects of the Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative - Southeast by Southeast by the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.  The storefront in South Philadelphia is the same location that BuildaBridge conducts art therapy groups for the Bhutanese and Burmese children.  English as a Second Language classes, sewing lessons and other art groups are also held here.

Check out the article!

Art and a little chocolate

Sunday was the second group of the Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience (PPR) Spring Session.  Artists Julia Crawford, Christine Byma and new volunteer, Julie Texteira, prepared a watercolor activity for the women's group.  One woman, Ann, was in attendance and I was invited to join the group.  We started with the feeling movement circle, led by Ms. Crawford, where we each chose a word that we were feeling that day and created a movement that illustrated the word.  I chose the word 'Encouraged' as being involved in the group inspired me personally and solidified the confidence I have in these groups that they can truly make a difference in the lives of those that have experienced trauma.  We put the movements together creating a circular, choreographed dance.  As a dancer myself, I was able to identify with each movement as it expressed all of our innermost feelings.  We then stated the BuildaBridge motto.  Stating the motto as a group gave the words power and at least for me, were the encouraging words needed to conquer the day ahead.

We moved to the long table where blank paper and watercolor paints awaited us.  Ms. Byma showed the group watercolor techniques, which as a dancer, felt out of my comfort zone at first.  She showed us the wet on wet technique - putting water on the paper first, then adding the watercolor paint to that area, created a very fluid spot of color. The second technique was merely the watercolor paint on the paper and then she showed us to add another color to it to create a new color.  The third technique involved turning the paper vertical so water and paint could drip down organically.  My first piece involved the wet on wet technique so all of the circular spots of color I created had soft, blurred edges.  I then used a darker color to create vertical jagged lines down the paper.  I turned my paper vertical and allowed water droplets to organically navigate their way down the jagged lines I just created.  Like a river hitting rocks, bumps and curves, I watched as the water flowed within the loose boundaries I created by paint.  In my life right now, there are particular things over which I have control and for which I've created structure.  But one of the things I learned as I watched the water droplets run down the paper like a river was that there are times when I need to let go of that control, and adapt to the changes occurring.  The droplets from the first sheet landed on a second piece of paper. These droplets then formed the foundation of my second piece (bottom sheet in photo below), creating something new and beautiful out of a bumpy and jagged beginning.  This moment was my art as metaphor for a life lesson.

The others shared their paintings and we discussed as a group what each meant to us as we viewed them.  The group closed with scarf dancing in a circle and stating the BuildaBridge motto again as encouragement for the day.  As I left, I felt calmer, at peace and prepared for the changes in my life.  Creative arts therapy research has shown these therapies to be one of the most effective strategies for alleviating the symptoms of trauma, abuse and stress. 

On my way home, I stopped and bought a piece of chocolate.  The combination of the art-making experience to help me process changes in life and chocolate to decrease the stress hormone cortisol, I felt relaxed, encouraged and at peace.  

This is why BuildaBridge uses art-making experiences with populations who have have experienced trauma.  To read more detail about BuildaBridge's approach and core values, visit the website. 

-- Danielle Dembrosky Bossert, Refugee Project Manager

Finding a Sense of Belonging

The welcome song on December 1st was extra special. Why? Two children, sisters, newly arrived from Nepal just a week prior, joined the Bhutanese refugee children’s art group. The regular attending children were on their best behavior, sitting taller than normal, singing louder and glancing at the sisters to see if they were enjoying themselves. The words of the welcome song – "Hello, Hello, so happy to see you; Hello, Hello, how do you do? Hello, hello, my name is.." – took on new meaning this time. One of the children took on the responsibility of translating for the new girls. The others did their part in acclimating the sisters to the rituals, rules and values of the group. The children danced, sang and they made mud sculptures of their choice illustrating the continuing metaphor of constant change and growth in life. This metaphor started with the lesson of the life cycle and migration of Monarch butterflies to Mexico (see previous post 'Skulls made of Sugar')

At the end of group, the sisters hung around, showing the artists Nepali music videos, sharing their interests and culture. One of the sisters continued to draw long after the group had ended while the other sister exchanged handmade bracelets with another child. They asked for paper to take home so they could continue drawing in preparation for the next group.

The BuildaBridge Classroom model helped the regularly attending children welcome and acclimate these newly arrived sisters from Nepal. The boundaries, structure and rituals create a community that these sisters are now a part of, helping them find a sense of belonging here in a new place.

Flight of the Monarchs

During their most recent group, Bhutanese children reviewed what they learned about monarch butterflies migrating from the U.S. to Mexico in late October.  Children worked in pairs to choreograph their interpretation of what the life cycle  of a butterfly and it's migration looks like.  Each pair performed their dance for the group using fabric to mimic wings and capes.  As children performed, the artists pointed out the scientific terms like transformation, caterpillar, cocoon and chrysalis in order to strengthen the group's vocabulary and academic skills.  The group then transitioned into their visual arts activity of creating mud sculptures.  The week prior, children created leaf drawings.  Christine, the visual art therapist, described how mud sculptures when they are dry are slightly more permanent than the leaf drawings, but also will not last forever.  Using these art activities as a metaphor, children were able to reflect on the things in their own lives that were permanent and impermanent.  Christine, Mr. Robert and Julia have consistently incorporated both movement and visual arts into all of the groups because the children respond so well to both. There are attributes and specific values to each art medium, all of which play an important role in helping children externalize the internal without the use of words as they continue to acclimate into U.S. culture.

Two newly arrived refugee children joined this group totaling 11 children in attendance on December 1st. The group taught them the songs, dances and rituals of the BuildaBridge Classroom, welcoming them into the space as if they had been there all along.  A celebration of this first term will occur December 15th and groups will re-start in mid-January.