Abstract
This study focuses on how racialized migrants build communities and cultivate collective well-being, using art as an anti-racist and decolonial practice. The second year of a two-year project, Mycelium seeks to understand the processes of resistance and the promotion of cultural identity and knowledge by employing participatory visual approaches. Specifically, through a participatory action research project in the form of community meals and Cellphilming in partnership with FoodShare Toronto. Three themes emerged from the short films created by nine people from across the Greater Toronto Area: 1) the importance of informal networks and collective action for belonging and resisting systemic discrimination, 2) food, stories, and art as conduits for physical and emotional connection within and between communities, and 3) the need for systemic changes to address the ways in which imperialism, colonialism, and racial capitalism impact our relationship to food. The findings suggest that food connects racialized migrants to their cultural identity and community while providing opportunities for cultivating social connections with each other in order to engage in collective healing and action. The co-researchers underscored the importance of these relationships as migrants living in a settler colonial nation. Additionally, community building and well-being occur through engagement with food, stories, and art as they expressed creating deep connections within their communities and other communities through sharing their culture. There is need for systemic changes to address barriers that prevent them from accessing food, including an increasing disconnection from the land, the disruption of the movement of food, and racial capitalism.
Presenters
Jennifer MaAssistant Professor, School of Social Work, McMaster University, Ontario, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
Participatory visual methodologies, Racialized migrants, Informal networks, Cultural connection
