Where Are You From? Art Education for Third Culture Kids

Where Are You From?

Art Education for Third Culture Kids By: Laura Keeney

A capstone project presented to the College of Fine Arts of the University of Florida in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Art Education.

Cover Artwork

By Grace Kim

“A Third Culture Kid (TCK) is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture. The TCK builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any.

Although elements from each culture are assimilated into the TCK’s life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar background.”

-David C. Pollock an Ruth E. Van-Reken!

Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, 2009!

Contents Introduction………………..2

Christine Rasmussen…………..3

Alec Von Bargen………………………7

Cathleen Hadley…………………………..11

Yoomee Ko……..………………………………13

Grace Kim…………………………………………..15

Joo Yeon Woo……………………………………………19

Resources……………………………………………………23! !

About the Author………………………………………..….…….24 Artwork By Cathleen Hadley

Language

Identity Cultural IdentityPlace Culture Belonging Home

Relationship

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Artwork By Alec Von Bargen

As I entered my classroom on the first day of school, I looked upon the faces of over 80 students throughout the day. These students come from over 26 countries, and speak over 15 languages combined. Some of these students have dual nationality parents, while others are in my classroom because their parents' careers and profession. For most of these students, their lives are full of unknown; 5-10% of my students will to leave during the school year, and that many new students, or more, will arrive throughout the year.

The above situation is my personal experience as an international school educator. Every year, my students change dramatically, and I often change jobs as well, moving internationally every two to four years. Since I began living internationally, I became increasingly aware how my own mobility affected who I was, my views on human relationships, and my personal and cultural identity. I soon realized the connection between my own mobility as a global nomad and the mobility of my students, and in turn their struggles within this paradigm This research project stems not only from my personal experience with international mobility, but a desire to understand how my students' personal experiences with a mobile and fluid lifestyle affects them as citizens of an ever-growing, globalized society.

Students who grow up internationally, within a mobile, multi-

Third Culture Kids Who are they?

layered, multicultural world are known as

Third Culture Kids (TCKs). These students spend their developmental years within what is known as a third culture; the cultural milieu that is between that of a child’s parent home culture and that of their host culture, not fully being part of one or the other. TCKs are known be quite “worldly,” having a deeper understanding of different cultures, perspectives, and worldviews. However, TCKs also struggle with issues of personal and cultural identity, a sense of belonging, 1 and definitions of home.

TCKs around the world are increasing at a faster rate than ever before, and are quickly taking the stage as leaders and citizens of the world. President Barack Obama himself was a Third Culture Kid, as well as actor Viggo Mortinson and novelist Alexander McCall Smith. The following publication introduces six Adult Third Culture (ATCK) or Cross Culture artists, and how they explore their global mobility, and the strengths and struggles that come with it.

1 (Cottrell, 2005; Grappo, 2008; Pollock & Van-Reken, 2009; Sellers, 2011 )

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Christine Rasmussen

"This painting is about letting go of the idea of having a childhood home to return to, and all that that implies." - Christine Rasmussen!

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C

hristine Rasmussen is a second generation

Third Culture Kid and American citizen, but only spent three years in the United States before she turned 18. Rasmussen grew up and spent most of her childhood and teenage years in Pakistan and Vietnam. Rasmussen currently has family living in five countries, and states, "I feel like no one in my family identifies really strongly with one nationality or another, but rather moves across borders fluidly." Additionally, Rasmussen states that even within countries, she moved quite often, never living in one house more than 2.5 years, and expresses a unique connection to those who share a similar background.

Rasmussen's artwork explores ideas of culture, place, and identity, and "reflects a sort of psychological jumping around, which in turn reflects the geographical jumping around that I've done my whole life." In, Deconstruction, Rasmussen depicts decayed, abandoned buildings to symbolize the contrast between the stability and comfort that buildings are intended to imply when inside. Similarly, her series "Flawless," reflects a struggle with the reclamation of her female identity with respect to the many different cultural values instilled within her.

Letting Go, 2010 36" X 60" Oil on canvas Christine Rasmussen Nomad Series

In Letting Go, Rasmussen explores the struggle she experienced as a college graduate, with no "home" to return to. She states, "this painting is about letting go of the idea of having a childhood home to return to, and all that that implies." This reveals a forced independence that symbolizes "a younger self helping my current self to let go of feelings of a lost childhood." Rasmussen also layers memories of place and displacement as a symbolic technique; revealing her connection to Pakistan with a mountainous background, yet a disconnection with the American landscape in the foreground, and the idea of being stuck in the middle, a foreign place between two worlds.

Through Rasmussen’s layered identity within the work, as well as multiple emotional connections and disconnections, she states that ultimately, "this painting encourages "letting go" of things outside one's control, and perhaps learning to appreciate the positive things that come out of such a unique and diverse experience.

"I think this painting explores the question of "how do I define my identity, when it's not tied to a geographical place?" - Christine Rasmussen!

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“My "Nomad" series in particular tries to address the lack of stability in my life by dealing with things like boundaries, otherness and (lack of) roots. I paint buildings that symbolize stability, although sometimes instability is implied if the building is falling apart.�

- Christine Rasmussen!

Right: Deconstruction, 2012 Christine Rasmussen Nomad Series Far Right: In the Spotlight, 2012 Christine Rasmussen Flawless Series

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In the Classroom:

In Letting go, 2010, Rasmussen explains having to let go of the ideal experience, letting go of the frustration of having a different life than that of those who aren't TCKs. This invites a discussion on times in our students’ lives where they wanted to hold onto a lifestyle, memory, or idea of the way they wanted their life to be, versus the way that it actually is. Students can compare and contrast lifestyle differences, and the benefits and detriments of living life as a TCK. Students could create works that explore an experience, relationship, place or idea that they had to

fluidity of the nomadic lifestyle, and conveys

these juxtaposing views through systematic pattern-making distorted by a fluid underlay (Rattray, 2008).

Because the cultural landscape is constantly changing for TCKs, divergent ideas, cultural cues, and value systems are inevitable. Using the idea of this internal struggle or battle, students can explore ways

in which their mobile lifestyle as a TCK has created conflict in relationships, values, feelings, and beliefs. Students can create works that challenge these conflicts in an attempt to reclaim one aspect of themselves, as Rasmussen does in her series, "Flawless,"

Using the idea of this internal struggle or battle, students can explore ways in which their mobile lifestyle as a TCK has created conflict in relationships, values, feelings, and beliefs.

Related Artworks!

•

Alaine Handa, Chamelion: The Experience of Global Citizen

•

Jinny Yu, Story of a Global Nomad

learn (or are still learning to) to let go, while also contrasting this loss with what they gain in the process; the new experiences, places, and relationships that evolve as a result from "letting go.”

In many different ways, Rasmussen explores her struggle with the internal conflict of different feelings, attitudes, realities, and cultures vying for validity within her. Jinny Yu also expresses a conflict between static cultural patterns and the

question them as in Deconstruction, or find a way to layer them, combining and in essence validating both as they come together to create something new, similar to the ideas of Jinny Yu's, "Story of a Global Nomad." Through this process, students may come to better understand the oftenfrustrating experience of mobility, and begin to approach this internal battle through dialogue and creation.

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Alec

Von Bargen lived in five

different countries before he was 18, and spoke five different languages by the time he was 15, making him a true global nomad to this day.

Von Bargen's life as a TCK has greatly influenced his adult life, and spends most of his time traveling as an artist in adulthood. Von Bargen states, "I love to live within a 'culture', - Alec Von Bargen! discover first-hand that which makes it tick, and because of my past as a Third Culture Kid, am passionate about people." noting a unique connection with culture and the realities that cultivate within it.

“We carry home with us, and yet we will always be searching for our 'true' home.�

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The Long Walk Home, 2011 500 x 5 x 200 digital print mural Alec Von Bargen

Von Bargen's artwork has significant ties to people, culture, and the lands in which they inhabit. He states, "My process stems from my fascination for people, places and the why, where and when of their existence." Von Bargen's series, "ONE," reveals glimpses of the human journey; its connection to history and place, and the story that reveals itself from within. Similarly, "River Rats/Now can I play with you?" explores issues of being accepted within a culture, and cultural relevance effects cultural identity within a society.

Alec Von

Von Bargen’s series, "The Long Walk Home," stems from research on the international refugee crisis in northern Africa and Southeast Asia and lead to the realization that "we are all refugees in this world, one way or another."

Because of Von Bargen's unique history, his awareness extends beyond the superficial, and he is able to share similar struggles, pain, and desires of others. In the mural, The Long Walk Home, Von Bargen attempts to "present the reality of the world we live in." and explains that within the work, reality is "not all as

Bargen

straightforward as it seems, therefore it's divided into moments, instances, breaths." Von Bargen uses 27 separate panels to convey glimpses of reality, memory, and place. He also uses the gradual movement from white to black to signify time and our lives within that construct. Von Bargen suggests that for him, the piece became almost autobiographical, stating, "The more I walk, the more I stand still and see that the light is within... the answers we seek most of the time can be answered by just looking within." In his connection to the Third Culture, he accepts that "we are all on a constant search for acceptance and a slow walk in directions unknown. Our walk is eternal and uncertain.”

“May the piece be anbealbum for for “May the piece an album the images of allofofall theoffriends the images the friends they've had to leave in the past, they've had to leave in the past, all of the new one's they're all of the new one's they're making currently and all of the making currently andmeet all of the amazing people they will amazing peopleinthey will meet in the future.”

the future.”

Alec Von Bargen - ! 8

“I always return to portraying my place within the big picture rather than documenting the external.”

- Alec Von Bargen!

In the Classroom:

Von Bargen's work, The Long Walk Home, uses the concept of time to explore cultural connection and a personal journey.

As time goes on, places, people, and possessions are left in the past, and TCKs often look toward an unknown future.

Using the concept of time and pivotal moments in their lives, students can question how these moments reflect their ever-changing lives. They can discuss Von Bargen's significance of panels to signify time, as well as the intentional blurred images to shed light on the often “grey area” that exists in life. Students can focus on how they as individuals absorb the new surroundings, create connections to memories from the past, and bring their cultural past into their present reality, mapping out their experience in relation to place and culture. They can layer time maps

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By creating time. evolution works, students explore their personal feelings of their journey in a new place, throughout many different places, relationships, cultures, personal struggles, or fleeting memories.

on top of one another, exploring the fluidity of memories and the abstractness of time, creating a blurred confused feeling, or question their unknown future with missing areas.

Laura Keeney (2014) also explores relationships in connection to time and place, recognizing lost relationships, and relationships that remain below the surface of her travels. Likewise, Bargen suggests that students can explore their friendships throughout time, questioning disconnected friendships, proximity friendships, family relationships, as well as third culture vs. monocultural friendships. By creating time evolution works, students explore their personal feelings of their journey in a new place, throughout many different places, relationships, cultures, personal struggles, or fleeting memories.

Using Von Bargen's series "One" as a foundation, students can question how place and culture effects and changes them, as well as how they impact the places they live, McKenzie also explores the relationship between culture, society and place in his series, “Postcards From, “ and the tendency of places, interactions and details to fade from our memory (New Museum, 2007). Classroom discussions can include how cultures evolve from the people within them, and how the landscape changes physically as well as figuratively because of its inhabitants. Students can explore their own relationships to the different places they have lived and take a moment to step back, and reflect on their own personal stories, and create works that recreate the memory of a specific place, embodying their solitary relationship with that place within a single, powerful image.

Related Artworks!

Left: Photo crop from "ONE Portraits", 2010 Alec Von Bargen

Background: Photo crop from “ The Long Walk Home” 2011 Alec Von Bargen

•

Dave McKenzie, Postcards From

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Walker Art Center, How Latitudes Become Forms

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Laura Keeney, Below the Surface, 2013

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Cathleen Hadley

"In this work, I am very much in character when I combine all the patterns that are parts of my changing history."

- Cathleen Hadley !

"C

athleen Hadley grew up three

countries including Venezuela, Argentina, and the United States. As an adult, Hadley continued her nomadic lifestyle, living in Argentina and Indonesia before settling in the US. Hadley states, "My travels broadened my worldviews" but she also recognizes a constant feeling of being in between cultures. She explains, "This affected my identity, decisionmaking processes, and relationships." Although American by passport, Hadley considered herself fundamentally different because of her third culture upbringing, and therefore felt rootless. Hadley reveals that as she accepted rootlessness as part of who she was, she could "become settled in who I am."

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Hadley's artwork reflects the attempt to become grounded physically and emotionally to her surroundings. She notes the importance of her sketchbook as a form of visual journaling, recording and collecting her surroundings as "a way to analyze the environment to find a way through the bustle of civilizations." Hadley describes these collections, including Sugarpacks and Written Language, Japan as negotiations of reality, or "assorted personal footpaths spreading out from these travels." In Missing Argentina, Hadley recognizes the struggle with things lost, and even fading in memory, but "still that presence of being there.� Hadley’s work makes unique connections between place, identity, and culture, and the interplay among these from within.

Hadley's Self Portrait, Florida attempts to capture a moment of reflection, in order to "pause and reassess my identity through art."

This is a pattern for Hadley, and self-portraits reoccur throughout her life. She explains this as a way of "maintaining the routine or pattern of my life.� In this portrait, Hadley expresses the intention to "combine all the patterns that are parts of my changing history. I do so with the intention to avoid conveying a particular period, border or boundary, to create some other." Because of Hadley's unique experience with constant change, she expresses that all of her works are "fragments of a work in progress, something unfinished, yet still being generated by me," and a constant reflection of her own, ever evolving self.

"This ‘portrait’ was not literal or traditional but it is the essence of me. I loved the surprise that erupted out of this work of where I stood in my life, at its most intimate, innocent Self Portrait, Florida, 2007 level." ”500 X 500” - Cathleen Hadley !

Digital Print Cathleen Hadley

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Yoomee Ko

"Growing up, finding my identity was one of the most difficult things and I attempted to find a solution by taking a closer look at myself" - Yoomee Ko!

“I worked on a self portrait from four different angles, because one wasn't enough.”

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- Yoomee Ko!

grew up in Indonesia, Korea, Poland and Vietnam. Having moved almost every four years, Ko states, "I strongly believe that we are the results of people and things we have come across, whether by chance or choice." Ko expresses that while growing up, finding her sense of identity was difficult, and belonging to a particular place was hard to relate to. She states, "I saw myself as a puzzle made up of the places I've lived in" and embraced artmaking throughout high school as a way to explore her identity.

Yoomee Ko's artwork, Self Portrait, is a self exploration of Ko's identity, attempting to find resolve in the many different ways she viewed herself and the world. Similarly, Still Life, attempts to grasp a sense of place and belonging, as she paints still lives, using culture and memory as vehicle for exploration. In Self Portrait, Ko depicts four different quadrants, all showing her self-portrait from a different angle. Ko explains that she felt equally a part of each of the four places she had lived, and that she worked "from four different angles, because one wasn't enough." Through this investigation, Ko ties her experience of place with her identity, stating "I was a person made up of these places."

In the Classroom: Ko and Hadley express ways in which they collected objects as symbols or connections to place.

Hadley also refers to losing touch with these memories as time goes on, leaving holes or gaps in her

Their work expresses is comfort in reflection of identity through selfportraits. Using the concept of reflection, reassessing, maintaining balance, students could create selfportraits that reflect and reassess their identities, either conceptually,

Using the concept of reflection, reassessing, maintaining balance, students could create self-portraits that reflect and reassess their identities, either conceptually, through collected experiences, or cultural layering.

Related Artworks Above: Missing Argentina Cathleen Hadley

Left: Self Portrait, 2004 Yoomee Ko

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Sara Finelli, My Map Book

•

Tanja Softic, Migrant Universe

work. Using these ideas, students could create memory reconstructions based on collected items; ticket stubs, language studies, souvenirs, and items of personal significance in reference to a particular place and time.

Students could explore how these memories overlap with one another, influence one another, and blur and fade with time. By creating memory maps, students are reflecting on their cultural identity through sense of place, language, and items of cultural significance of the time.

B o t h Yo o m e e K o a n d Cathleen Hadley express a similar comfort in self- portraits, and how concentrating on oneself seemed to bring understanding to what was happening around them.

through collected experiences, or cultural layering. Students can discuss the different factors that create who a person is, and the different experiences each person has within that contribute to who they are. Students can also discuss how perspective plays a role in their lives, and how they see themselves versus how others in their host or home cultures view them. This contrast will invite students to question the different roles or identities they might play as Third Culture Kids, and shed light on the uniqueness of their situation so that they may begin to understand how others see them, how they see others, and how they view themselves.

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Grace

Kim

"As nomads are uprooted, they lose some sense of self, and must re-find their place and identity in a new surrounding."

- Grace Kim!

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Uproot,

24" X 36"

acrylic and pencil on canvas

Grace Kim

T

hroughout her life, Grace Kim has spent

more time living nomadically than in her passport country of South Korea. Kim lived in six different countries growing up, on three different continents. While Kim lived in places long enough to feel accustomed, she also feels a disconnection with her passport country stating, "I truly feel as though I have no sense of 'home,' much like nomads would." While Kim has struggled with her Third Culture identity, she also recognizes the vast and numerous ways she has embraced her upbringing, stating "It has taught me to be open-minded and made me aware of the world, rather than just myself."

Kim's work reflects various avenues of the Third Culture experience. In Tell Me Your Story and Talk to Me, Kim explains the human connection we all share, and "everyone, TCKs or not, has stories to share, and we all have different backgrounds." Kim's installation, Untitled, considers the mobility and nomadic identity of the TCK lifestyle. Using human hair of Third Culture Kids to reflect constant movement, Kim creates a space filled with "uneasiness like you don’t belong there, or feel a bit uncomfortable” (as cited in Denizen, 2014).

2014). Through these works, Kim recognizes the qualities that all humans share, but also how her experience has been affected by her third culture story.

When Kim initially began Uproot, she was unaware of her motivations, but says, "as the work progressed, I began to realize the meaning behind the work, and how it represented my life and my experience." In this piece, roots extend from the fingertips, and seem to have lost their anchor from the ground. Kim states these roots symbolize "a plant being uprooted from the soil, just as global nomads are uprooted from their surroundings." Similarly, TCKs experience the same initial shock, including loss and grief, before finding their footing again. Kim also mentions the irony in the piece, stating, "The piece represents the irony in the loss of self, yet this is what defines TCKs." Although Kim recognizes the struggles of her experience, she also feels a sense of ownership to the TCK experience, and understands that while uniqueness can be challenging, it is also a gift, and it is necessary to consider both when considering the Third Culture.

"The piece represents the irony in the loss of self, yet this is what defines TCKs. What they lose of themselves, they replace with the host cultures. As a result, they become the amalgamation of multiple identities."

- Grace Kim!

Kim mentions, "I wanted the who experiences the piece to feel unstable," (as cited in Denizen,

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“My installation piece was designed to create a sense of unease and constant movement, very similar to how global nomads feel in their constant moves.”

- Grace Kim!

Related Artworks 17

Untitled Installation Grace Kim

•

Elizabeth Liang, Alien Citizen, 2013-2014

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T-R-A-C-E-S, You Are Not Here; a dislocative tourism agency, 2011

In the Classroom: In Uproot, Kim uses the metaphor or being a plant uprooted from its security within the soil. She utilizes a variety of symbols to convey meaning, which invites students to begin a dialogue about symbols within artwork and how to convey meaning and mood using these processes. Students could consider different symbols that reflect their mobile lifestyle, strengths or struggles they have as TCKs, and create works that use visual onomatopoeia to reflect meaning.

Students can humor, irony, or thoughtful inquiry to approach this project. Using visual metaphors, students begin translating their own experience that is sometimes hard to explain into a visual representation, initiating thoughtful reflection into their own ideas of place, identity, and culture, and how these interact with one another within their lives.

In her installation, Untitled, Grace Kim uses human hair to represent and symbolize instability and discomfort that she felt as a TCK, inviting her audience to participate in the experience.

Similarly, Elizabeth Liang (2013) invites her audience to become part of her world sharing her feelings and thoughts through humorous and ironic performance works.

Furthermore, T-R-A-C-E-S requires participation from their audience in You Are Not Here; a dislocative tourism agency, where participants physically experience a sense of displacement by touring a foreign city within their current surroundings, “undermining the foundations of both cities and the repressed connections between them� (TR-A-C-E-S, 2011, para 4). These artists invite the audience to become an essential part of their work, creating a dialogue in the classroom about participatory artwork, and how that helps convey meaning.

Students can brainstorm and discuss feelings, struggles, questions or strengths

Using visual metaphors, students begin translating their own experience that is sometimes hard to explain into a visual representation, initiating thoughtful reflection into their own ideas of place, identity, and culture.

Talk to Me Grace Kim Â

they have as TCKs and collaborate on building these feelings in their audience through metaphoric, symbolic and participatory techniques. Students can create either collaborative or individual works that physically invite the viewer to partake in their experience in order to better understand their situation.

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Joo Yeon Woo “I tried to create a series of photographs embodying Korean immigrants' personal stories and emotional resonances�

- Joo Yeon Woo!

Leave to Remain, 2014 digital print Joo Yeon Woo

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Joo Yeon Woo considers herself a culturally displaced artist, immigrating to the United States from her passport country as a young adult. Woo's interest lies in investigating the "experiences of dislocation and rootlessness" in her life, and how this shapes identity. Woo also explores the idea of how her own Korean cultural heritage effects and shapes her life as a global nomad, and how to express her "Korean regionality in a global

community."

“The question I have in the project is how secondgeneration children inform their cultural identity in their multiple cultural influences?�

- Joo Yeon Woo!

Joo Yeon Woo's artwork symbolically reveals the displaced artist within, and how Woo constantly redefines a sense of place in today's contemporary nomadic world. In "Traveler's Cup," Woo collects and consumes places, physically drinking them in from the water glass she drinks from, "in order to absorb the location visually and conceptually." Through this process, Woo consumes the place, leaving them in her memory, and collecting a history of her fleeting experiences. She states, "These portraits of place are an artistic archive of my cultural displacement and the attendant sense of instability and sense of alienation." Similarly, "Skyscape" combines Woo's fingerprints with the use of traditional Korean ink wash drawing and

literati painting to address cultural identity and displacement through the lens of adaptability and mobility of the nomadic culture (Woo, 2014).

Woo's most recent project, "What's Your Name?" embodies "Korean immigrants' personal stories and emotional resonances" through digital photography. In this series, Woo's interest lies in Korean immigrant students living in the United States, and how these children cope with pressures to adopt a strong sense of pride in their Korean heritage, yet also assimilate in American culture, and the dual cultural identity that evolves within the two paradigms.

Throughout the project, Woo interviewed Korean immigrants, housing their stories, memories, and journey in a binder. Woo also discusses the act of cultural renaming, the tendency of Korean Americans to adopt a Western name, and how this might effect or create "cultural disparity in their name and identity." Although Woo's project is housed in the United States, her exploration and investigation of the concepts of cultural identity and its relationship to cultural displacement are far reaching, and Woo's own experiences tell a story of embrace and understanding of the Third Culture nomadic community.

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In the Classroom: Joo Yeon Woo carefully collects histories, stories and fears of her subjects, and houses their journey within a simple binder, creating a juxtaposition between what is viewed on the outside versus what is housed within. Similarly, Do Ho Suh attempts to explain the difficulty of moving homes, and the clash of cultures, both externally as well as internally (Lehmann Maupin, 2014). Students could discuss the ways in which Woo shows

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a collection of histories and stories, but blocks the viewer from reading them, and all that that implies. Furthermore, students can discuss how and why people change their names when they move, in order to “fit in� and the symbolism between hiding your birth name from those around you. Using these ideas, students could create altered books or sculptures based on

different times in their lives where they felt misunderstood, unknown, or marginalized because those around them couldn't understand the complexity of their experiences, memories, and collected items of personal significance within. Through conversation of the exterior vs. the interior, students are reflecting on the complexity of their cultural identity through

Students could also discuss the ways in which Woo shows a collection of histories and stories, but blocks the viewer from reading them, and all that that implies.

sense of place, memories, and culture.

Background: Skyscape Series 2011-2014 Joo Yeon Woo

In Traveler’s Cup, Woo (2014) documents place and her momentary experience, attempting to internalize it before leaving that place, perhaps to never return. Similarly, Keeney (2014) attempts to collect instances of moments, places, and experience using a sketchbook, collecting experiences on paper through rubbings impressions and absorption.

By having students explore these different

techniques and the idea of collecting fleeting experiences or moments that create our realities, students begin to bridge the gaps between memories and place.

Students can document different concepts of impermanence through photographic or visual journaling, creating collection of experience that begins to tie students to place and memory.!

Related Artworks! !

• Do Ho Suh, Home Within Home, 2011 • Tanja Softic, Migrants Universe, 2007-2011 • Laura Keeney, Semi-Permanent,

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“These “portraits” of place are an artistic archive of my cultural displacement and the attendant sense of instability and sense of alienation.”

Joo Yeon Woo!

Traveler's Cup Series, 2012-2013 Joo Yeon Woo 22

Resources !

• Cathleen Hadley

Author: Artist in Transit: A Fusion of Art and Identity, Writing Out Of Limbo.

Feature Article: TCK TALENT: Cathleen Hadley, Porteña at Heart and Artist by Calling

• Christine Rasmussen

Website: http://www.christinerasmussenart.com

• Laura Keeney Website: www.laurakeeney.weebly.com

• Jessica Wen Website: http://www.jwendesign.com Interview: Drieculturen

• Elizabeth Liang Website: http://cargocollective.com/aliencitizen/index Feature Article: What's it Like to Come Out as a Third Culture Kid on Stage?

• Grace Kim

Website: http://gracekim-art.webs.com

Feature Article: Exploring Third Culture Identity Through Art

• Jinny Yu Website: www.jinnyyu.com Exhibition: ArtMur: Story of a Global Nomad

• iEARN Collaboration Center

iEARN Project Space: Special Place

iEARN Project Space: Wall Of Names

iEARN Project Space: One Day in the Life

• Joo Yeon Woo

Website: http://www.spacekite.net

Feature Blog: Shrinking Monuments in Traveler's Glass

• Alaine Handa Website: www.alainehanda.com

• Sara Finelli Website: www.sarafanelli.com

• Dave McKenzie

• Alec Von Bargen

Art Education: New Museum: Dave McKenzie New Museum: GClass Lesson: An Exploration of Places and Spaces Part II

Website: http://www.alecvonbargen.com

• Yoomee Ko

Website: www.yoomeeko.com

• Tanja Softić

Website: http://tanjasoftic.com

Interview: Migrant Universe: An Interview with Tanja Softic

Press Release: Tanja Softić: Migrant Universe

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• T-R-A-C-E-S: Transcultural Research Artist Curator Exchange Series Website: You Are Not Here: a dislocative tourism agency

• Do Ho Suh Museum Exhibition: Do Ho Suh Art Education: Art21: Do Ho Suh

From the !

Author: !

Far Left: Below the Surface, crop, 2013 Laura Keeney

Left: Page from Semi-Permanent, 2014 Laura Keeney

Although I am not a traditional Third Culture Kid, I moved constantly while growing up. I graduated high school in Lynchburg, Virginia, and attended Virginia Commonwealth University, obtaining my Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2008. In early 2009, I began living internationally as a volunteer at first, then looking for career opportunities abroad. Since then, I have taught in Chile, Korea, and Morocco, and often spend time traveling, documenting my restless footsteps through photography.

Living internationally, I have come to personally understand the struggles that TCKs experience. My personal definition of home is not clearly defined, as I do not feel at “home” in my hometown, yet I struggle with creating a home in my current location as well. Friends come and go, and they seem to take little pieces of you each time. My “home” tends to be scattered around the globe, among close friends living somewhere else. It is hard to explain your way of seeing the world to others who do not share your experience. So holding back becomes a way of life when you are among those who “don’t get it.”

In 2012, I began artistically exploring the feeling of cultural displacement, more specifically through fleeting moments, global connections, and relationships. I became a global nomad as an adult and I still struggle with these issues. Therefore, I can only imagine how confusing it must be for teen TCKs that I teach.

As an art educator living internationally and teaching in international schools, I see first hand students who are grappling with multiple cultures, mobility, and belonging on a daily basis. Growing up without understanding your own sense of belonging and culture within the world must be confusing, stressful, and lonely. It is my hope that by shedding light on the growing world in which they do belong, and connecting students within the third culture, will instill a sense of power within these students, initiating global understanding. 24

All artworks within this publication are strictly copyright and used only with permission from the artists. No work within this publication may be reproduced without the artist’s and/or the author’s consent.

References

Cottrell, A. (2005). TCKs come of age. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1zP49u9

Grappo, R. (2008). Building resiliency in global nomads. Foreign Service Journal, 85(12), 76-96.

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