CERP 2017
Community Engaged Research Proposals (CERP) Completed Proposal Posted to blog by June 5 “University of Washington Honors in Berlin: Negotiating Identities and Mediating Community, Berlin, Germany” Spring preparatory seminar Honors 384C ABSTRACT The primary goal of this project is to better understand and identify how art is used to foster belonging. This study mostly explores “belonging” in terms of the ability of migrants and refugees to feel a kinship with and sense of membership in the society which they now inhabit. This first requires a definition of art, so as to identify artistic efforts through the rest of the project. We will be generally using the definition of “the arts” as put forth by Merriam-Webster Dictionary: “Painting, sculpture, music, theater, literature, etc., considered as a group of activities done by people with skill and imagination.” It is important to, at least to some extent, restrict what is to be for this study defined as art. Certain fields which could be by some considered arts on account of their incorporation of creativity and imagination, such as some sciences and the inventing of utilitarian products, are to be omitted for the sake of simplicity and because there is often contestation regarding whether or not these fields are in fact, part of “the arts.” Thus this project will look at artists in migrant communities (especially in Berlin, Germany), and explore how art has allowed them to transcend positions (from outsider to citizen) in their adopted societies. While currently for this project, the sense of belonging is based upon how the individual involved in the artistic activities perceives it to be, this may be stretched to how other individuals already “part” of the society see the artists. For example, if a migrant artist feels a greater sense of belonging in their new society as a result of their art, does this correspond to where other members of society see said artist? BACKGROUND It was while reading Eva Youkhana’s piece on creative activism through street art that I began to understand the connections between art and space. Youkhana wrote of how young men from lower classes first began embracing graffiti to “gain public esteem.” “By appropriating a moving object,” wrote Youkhana of the tendency to graffiti trains, “belonging of the writer is produced, documented, and propagated.” By casting one’s art upon a space, one becomes intrinsically connected to said space: they belong in that space. Simply put, in influencing a space (especially unleashing one’s creativity through art), an individual becomes entwined with said space and thus belongs there. This phenomenon extends beyond visual street art to other creative formats. In exploring the impact of Turkish-German literature on Berlin, Yasemin Yildiz notes that “Turkish-German literature of Berlin demonstrates a marked entanglement with local sites, histories, and cultural memories that signal complex belonging.” Indeed any form of artistic creation relating to a specific space alters that space and thus the artist becomes a part of that space’s history and character. This topic of fostering belonging through creative art attracts me especially in that in many ways, though I hadn’t understood so at the time, my life mirrors this phenomenon. As a child largely inhibited from becoming immersed in my elementary school community by shyness and OCD, I often felt an outsider. I found solace in reading and then writing, discovering and creating worlds in which I could belong. Through writing I was able to develop my voice and foster a better understanding of who I wanted to be and how to become that person beyond the page. While I am young and have yet to do much public writing (and thus cannot speak from experience to the way that my own creativity correlates to the space I occupy), I believe truly that through creative release, we are rendered stronger and more confident. Through creative release, we discover our place in the world. QUESTION How do individuals employ art to enforce their sense of belonging in a society? CULTURAL SENSITIVITY Firstly, as an American studying in Berlin, I will be exploring the concept of belonging in a place where I myself do not belong. Furthermore, since my question is predominantly dealing with migrants, I must be aware that my experience is not the migrant experience; I, as a middle class white American (to count off a couple privileges), never had a need to work to belong in my city since I fit into the majority population. I also must be careful in identifying “migrant art.” As Sasa Stanisic makes clear in “Three Myths of Immigrant Writing: A View from Germany,” categorizing works of literature (or any form of art for this matter) based simply upon the identity of the creator as a migrant, not only diminishes the art, but serves to turn an incredibly diverse population into a single homogenous entity. By conglomerating people in such a way, we fail to understand the nuance of heritage and the varying opportunities and experiences faced by different migrants. As a Westerner, I can’t deny that I observe and define both art and creativity in a highly Westernized fashion. As Natascha Radcliffe-Thomas explores in “Fashioning Cross-Cultural Creativity: Investigating the Situated Pedagogy of Creativity,” it is undeniable that different cultures define and foster creativity and art in different ways and that “Traditional cross-cultural creativity research has presented a dichotomous view of Western and Confucian-Heritage Culture propensity to creativity as when creativity is defined as synonymous with individuality, rule-breaking and originality, cross-cultural comparisons favor Western individualist societies over CHC collective societies.” This observation that Western definitions of creativity privilege Western-style art is something that I strive to be aware of in my research. I hope to allow the individuals I encounter put forth their own definitions of creativity so I can try my best to not analyze art based on my own pre-conceived notions. I hope to approach this study as an outside learner and observer and will note factors inhibiting this ability as they come up. METHODS Being that the research question involved in this project is reliant on individual opinion, much of the data collected will be qualitative. I hope to conduct interviews with both artists of migrant background as well as individuals leading art projects involving migrants. Seeing that I will likely be doing my community engagement activity at Muanana Refugee Sewing Project, I will be able to observe and engage with those working at the project, and learn firsthand how artistic work (in this case involving fabric) impacts the lives of the involved refugee women. Of course I will also have to collect information through other studies and articles, seeing that I will only have minimal time to engage with individuals involved in the migrant-art scene. It is undeniable that my status as a community outsider (as well as general inability to speak German), will make it difficult for me to interact with individuals; I have a very short period in which to build a rapport crucial in collecting the stories and claims I need. I will thus be very reliant on community partners and Berlin contacts, especially as I work to get a better sense of what I want to learn and my role in this learning. DAILY SCHEDULE in Berlin. This will be tentative and may be a combination of community partner and individual schedules. This schedule will very likely be adjusted, but it’s good to start planning a tentative plan of action. How will you explore this question while you are in Berlin? What kind of background research schedule will you develop before you leave for Berlin? Where will you go? Who will you meet? (Seattle, Berlin) People (names, titles, etc.) Places (location and transportation) Equipment (cameras, video recorders, paints, logbook, etc.) Information you’ll gather (photos, notes from interviews, observations noted in logbook, etc.) REFERENCES Radcliffe-Thomas, Natascha. "Fashioning Cross-Cultural Creativity: Investigating the Situated Pedagogy of Creativity." Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity & the Arts 9.2 (2015): 152-60. Web. Stanisic, Sasa. "Three Myths of Immigrant Writing: A View from Germany." Words Without Borders Nov. 2008: n. pag. Print. Yildiz, Yasemin. "Berlin as a Migratory Setting." The Cambridge Companion to the Literature of Berlin. N.p.: Cambridge UP, n.d. 206-24. Print. Youkhana, Eva. Creative Activism and Art Against Urban Renaissance and Social Exclusion-- Space Sensitive Approaches to the Study off Collective Action and Belonging. Thesis. Interdisciplinary Latin America Center, University of Bonn, 2014. N.p.: Sociology Compass, n.d. Print. Stevenson, Patrick. Language and Migration in a Multilingual Metropolis: Berlin Lives. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. Print
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorStudent at the University of Washington, Sophie Aanerud, will be studying abroad in Berlin, Germany. Here are some of her thoughts . . . Archives
August 2017
Categories |