Spring Term Updates

As we move into May and warm weather finally arrives, both our PRMHC and PPR programs have been progressing. At Southeast by Southeast, Burmese Karen refugees have been using ceramics to explore ideas of support. The children created unique plates, cups, bowls and boxes using a variety of clay techniques. The items will be donated to newly-arrived refugee families in need to support them in their transition to Philadelphia.

Burmese Karen children paint designs in glaze onto clay plates they made

The Iraqi group in Northeast Philadelphia evolved to include Sudanese refugees as well. Parents and children in that group have been learning how to make colorful mosaics from broken pieces of ceramics. They are exploring the concept of identity, including their identities of their native countries as well as newly-formed identities in the United States.

The Iraqi/Sudanese group learned how to make mosaics using many different tools

At Nationalities Service Center, our Mixed Adult group is using music and art to explore themes of improvisation in art and in life. They are learning various musical beats and instruments as well as the technique of applique while exploring these themes. The Parents and Children’s group has been using visual art to explore the concepts of home and community, and has been working on a different project each week to work towards building a sense of community within the group.

Stay tuned as the Refugee Project gears up for our summer programming!

Art-Making builds Resilience

BuildaBridge features artists Hope Mead and Robert Kelleher in this video illustrating how art-making has made a difference this semester.  Groups this semester took place at the Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative's (PRMHC) new storefront site in South Philadelphia, Southeast by Southeast.

Boat Full of Emotions

The PPR (Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience) Families and Children’s group reflects on the mural that they have been working on for the past several weeks.  PPR is a collaborative between BuildaBridge, Nationalities Service Center (NSC) and Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIASPA) providing services and programs to survivors of torture. The weeks’ themes have been “travel” and “home”, two issues of concern for all refugees. They reflected on what could be in the conversation bubbles next to each of the people.  The figures in the boat were made by tracing each of the group members’ silhouettes, and the stars that reflect light to the waves in the ocean were made by participants tracing their hands.

 

Jeane Cohen (Lead Artist), Mimi Scalia (Assistant Teaching Artist) and Hayley Strickler (Volunteer) led the workshops.  Each workshop examined a topical aspect of self reflection, identifying barriers, tools, and skills for resilience related to that aspect. For example, the topics addressed were:

• Language as a platform for self-expression
• Emotion based Self Portraits
• A boat as a metaphoric safety container
• Generated maps as a tool for understanding that home as place can be flexible and what you make it
• A sail to learn how to be aware and in control of self directed activities
• Water and the ocean as a metaphor for movement and change
• Created stars of people who are important to us to remember that they are watching out for us

The artwork made during each workshop served as a component for a small-scale mural, or wall hanging collage. All of the components were created individually and then combined together for the final class to reflect the interconnectedness of the different components of healing and resources explored. They then provided a strong and lasting image of the process of resilience.
The final image included figures of emotion, speaking created languages in a boat of safety with a sail of direction, traveling on the ocean, at night time with a map in the sky and stars of guidance.

The final piece is 10 feet x 10 feet.

"We Iraqis have long stories"

"We Iraqis have long stories" said a participant in BuildaBridge's therapeutic arts group for Iraqi families living in Northeast Philadelphia.  This group, comprised of Iraqi mothers and children who have lived in the U.S. for over three years, will be focusing their efforts this Fall on telling their stories through a group made tapestry.  Operationally, a tapestry is a single composition which is comprised of many threads. Conceptually, a tapestry displays a meaningful moment in time that is a symbol and a distillation of many smaller experiences and moments. In addition, many people with unique lives and backgrounds come together to form one community.  The group will keep this metaphor - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, at the forefront of their art experiences to create the piece.  Since October, 28 participants have attended three groups.  Over the next few weeks, participants and BuildaBridge artists will create story-based pieces about their families, their generation, and then their group/community histories. 

Also during this Fall term BuildaBridge is providing the Burmese Chin and Burmese Karen communities therapeutic arts groups in South Philadelphia.  BuildaBridge's efforts with the Bhutanese children have phased out as many of them are feeling more socially connected after living in Philadelphia for over four years now.  BuildaBridge has thus re-focused efforts on the Burmese communities who are still arriving in relatively high numbers to the Philadelphia region.  These groups have served 32 participants so far this Fall.

Another new project was launched at Southwark School in South Philadelphia.  This school has a wide diversity of students from over 10 countries including many of the Bhutanese and Burmese refugees with whom BuildaBridge works.  Southwark invited BuildaBridge to create a mural that represents the diversity of their students and to use the school's main quote "We honor the greatness in you."  See the mural in process below and stay tuned for more Fall program updates!

Thank you Creative Philadelphia!

BuildaBridge thanks the City of Philadelphia's Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy for the recognition of our Refugee Project.  On Thursday, October 1st, BuildaBridge was honored in a ceremony for our work exhibited at City Hall with the Mayoral Certificate of Artistic Excellence.  The works represented five years of our project with 500 refugees from 13 countries with the help of 33 BuildaBridge artists.  BuildaBridge exhibited pieces from The Refugee Project, which is comprised of participation in three collaborations: the Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative, the Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience and a partnership with Nationalities Service Center's Refugee Employment and Advancement Program. The presentation also recognized programs by the School District of Philadelphia.  

Helen Haynes, Chief Cultural Officer with Dr. Vivian Nix-Early, Co-Founder of BuildaBridge

Certificate received by BuildaBridge

Mayor Nutter with Dr. Nix-Early and PRMHC Project Manager, Danielle Bossert

Year 4 Report

 

 

 

BuildaBridge is pleased to announce the publication of its Year 4 Report of involvement in the Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative (PRMHC).

 

BuildaBridge PRMHC Year 4 Report

They fled Bhutan with their children on their backs

Since the early 1990’s, over 100,000 ethnic Nepalese refugees from southern Bhutan have fled to Nepal as a result of racially-motivated forced eviction.   In 1989, the king of Bhutan announced that the country would adopt the ‘One Nation, One People’ policy (also known as Bhutanization) prohibiting the practice of Nepali language, Hindu culture and religion, and any dress other than the traditional Drukpa dress. Thousands of Lhotsampa of Nepali descent who had been living in southern Bhutan since the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were forced to leave the country.  Many were brutally tortured and others imprisoned; some spent nearly twenty years living in crowded refugee camps.

For the Bhutanese community in South Philadelphia, images of this history are now illustrated in a mural hanging at the Bhutanese American Organization of Philadelphia (BAOP).  Facilitated by BuildaBridge artists Julie Rosen and Stevie French, as part of Nationalities Services Center's Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience with support from the Office of Refugee Resettlement, twenty-nine Bhutanese elders spent  three months processing their histories through art-making experiences to create this mural.  The left-most section of the mural illustrates their lives as farmers in Bhutan.  The middle section depicts their forced journeys to Nepal and living in the refugee camps.  The third, right most section, shows their new home - Philadelphia.  Since the beginning of this idea in 2013, the goal has always been to display the mural at the BAOP in order for the elders to share their history with the next generation.

On April 11th, that goal was accomplished.  Sixteen children, some parents and other leaders from the Bhutanese community gathered at the BAOP to reveal the mural and listen to the elders share their stories and process of the mural. 
"We want to keep our history alive; we want to pass our history on through the mural to our children."
"It's a blessing being a part of this community and share the artwork with them."
"All [of us] were resettled in different countries, we came to Philadelphia.  I love Philadelphia.  I traveled to many cities - Philadelphia is my favorite."

See pictures from the BAOP event here.  Read about the beginnings of this mural here.

The Things We Leave Behind

There used to be a tree outside of my childhood home that my sisters and I loved. We’d claim to be queen and play on it, imagining that the world was ours. Eventually, the roots from the tree dug their way underground towards the house. It was no longer safe to have it there. The tree had to be chopped, the stump uprooted. We had to leave the tree behind and although I loved that tree and it held a plethora of memories, with time comes change.

When Frank and Beverly came to their second PPR session, they found the art prompt for the day to be particularly challenging for them to think about. Frank had drawn a tunnel and stated that he felt he is in darkness. They both became upset at the thought of their home, the way they had left it, and explained to the group that they had lost everything when they came here. The thought of this made them both very emotional, they thought deeply about their losses. Frank stated that he would like for his family to remember that he loves them.



Roots to Routes, Image by Kelly Finlaw

At this time, Becky, our creative arts therapist, shared with the group that remembering and experiencing love for others can help guide us through darkness. I reached my hand out and placed it on Beverly's shoulder to provide comfort, we smiled at each other for a moment. When Frank apologized for becoming emotional, Becky assures them both that their openness in class is appreciated and encouraged. This is a place for them to heal. - Emily Kimmelman, Artist-on-Call

BuildaBridge is facilitating hope, healing and resiliency through art-making experiences for Frank, Beverly and the other nearly 200 refugees served throughout the year in Philadelphia. 

Donate today to Roots to Routes to help Frank and Beverly continue their journey of processing their roots towards positive routes into the future.  The goal is to raise $1,000 by the end of April!

Creative Arts Therapy as a means to Rebuild

“When there is peace, you can see it on the faces and in the eyes of children." A.K., a middle-aged man from Iraq, shared this quote about his drawing of children playing around trees.  A.K. noted during his sharing time that the music playing in the background, eased his nerves as he drew.  Read about A.K. here.

Oliver, a man in his young thirties, drew stick figures at an airport about to board a plane to a new land. In describing his image, he discussed his journey of leaving behind his home country and going to new country where he is currently unfamiliar with the language, people and the culture. Overwhelmed by these challenges, he shared with the group that he often thought “maybe I should go back home".  With encouragement from the group and much reflection through his artwork, he felt by the end that the group would be a good place to network and share his story as a survivor of torture.  

As part of BuildaBridge's efforts with the Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience, creative arts therapists and teaching artists provide art therapy and therapeutic art making groups in the community context for survivors of torture.  The stories of A.K. and Oliver signify the positive outcomes art can have in facilitating hope, healing and resiliency.  BuildaBridge uses creative arts therapy and the therapeutic arts because they are some of the most effective strategies for alleviating symptoms of trauma, abuse and stress through its effects on physiological, brain and hormonal activity. 

In honor of Creative Arts Therapy Week (#CATW2015), we share these stories of the transformative power of the arts through our work with survivors of torture, just one of many different vulnerable populations the organization serves through the arts.

Additionally, The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) affirms strategies like the ones BuildaBridge uses.  They note the use of Creative Arts Therapy with survivors of torture by describing Lembe's story.  "Lembe, a torture survivor, wrote her name on a colourful cloth. As part of her rehabilitation therapy, Lembe worked passionately on it, designing a fish, a bird and adding the names of other survivors. “Designing on the cloth helped my creativity,” she said “it allowed me to mentally relax, to learn how to express myself and to forget my daily hardships.”  Read Lembe's story and the UNHCR's article here on art therapy.

What's in a name?

S. wakes up every Sunday saying that it's the day for her art class. She looks forward to attending because her teacher knows her name and calls on her by name to lead dance movements.  S. had perfect attendance during the Fall of 2014 because BuildaBridge's art class made her feel important and valued.  

Julia Crawford, lead therapeutic movement instructor, greeting a child at the threshold

S. is one of 51.2 million displaced persons in the world today.  According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, this is the highest number since World World II and equivalent to the 26th largest nation on earth.

To S., the fact that her teacher knows her name is a huge reason why she attends BuildaBridge's art class.  Artists, teachers and creative arts therapists are trained in BuildaBridge's Classroom Model, a trauma-informed, hope-infused, child/client-centered approach that facilitates hope, healing and resiliency among populations experiencing crisis and poverty.  A large component of the trauma-informed method is affirmation of the individual, the culture from where they came and recognition of their abilities towards a hopeful future.  Artists learn each child's name as part of this affirmation process and call the child by name when welcoming them across the threshold, throughout the course of the class and when the child is leaving.   Learning one's name is the first step towards affirmation of the individual, becoming aware of their situation and taking action to make a difference.

BuildaBridge has taken that first step and gone beyond in providing programming as part of its Refugee Project serving 300 refugees, immigrants and survivors of torture  since 2011.

Imagine if we learned the names of all 51.2 million displaced persons in the world - we would be one step closer towards a brighter future for everyone.

To learn more about the conflicts that have caused displacement and how many have been displaced, check out the United Nations' The Refugee Project - an interactive map of refugee migrations around the world in each year since 1975. United Nations data is complemented by original histories of the major refugee crises of the last four decades, situated in their individual contexts.

New faces, new beginnings

202 - The number of refugees, immigrants and aslyees who participated in BuildaBridge programming during 2014.  

112 - Adults
90 - Children
19 - Artists engaged

Over 75% of participants were new to BuildaBridge programming this year and came from over ten countries.  The art-making experiences in a community context allow participants to build bridges between their culture and those of others; communicate their stories; share experiences and challenges and most importantly, find the resiliency and hope for for a new beginning here in the U.S.

Check out highlights from 2014:

Bhutanese Elders Story Mural
Videos of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo
Refugee Employment and Advancement Program
Friendships form at Hopeful City exhibit
Burmese Chin and Karen children find unity
The Talking Turtle
Bridging the Cultural Divide through Art

PRMHC Year 3 Report

BuildaBridge completed Year 3 activities of the Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative on June 30th, 2014.  Funding continued from the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual DisAbility Services, the Sheila Fortune Foundation and Union Benevolent Association.  Seventy-six refugees from three different populations were served during the past year.

Read the full Year 3 Report.

BuildaBridge would like to honor and thank the following artists who have contributed to the success of the Refugee Project for at least two or more years:

• Celeste Wade
• Natalie Hoffmann
• Julia Crawford
• Christine Byma
• Jessica LaBarca
• Robert Kelleher
• Stevie French
• Danielle Owen
• Liz Green

For full biography and current position information, see the Personnel page.