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The Language of Art: An Im/migrant and English Language Learner Art Education Program Danette Marie Albino University of Florida
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The im/migrant and English Language Learner (ELL) populations of the United States have been growing significantly over the past 50 years, with 40.4 million foreignborn people (of which approximately 38.36% are naturalized U.S. citizens, 32.43% are legal permanent residents, and 27.48% are undocumented im/migrants) have been reported to have resided in the U.S. in 2011 whereas 9.7 million foreign-born people were reported to have resided in the U.S. in 1960 (Garcia, 2013). According to Grantmakers for Education (2013), English Language Learners make up about 10.7% of student enrollment in K-12 schools, with 5.3. million English Language Learners enrolled in schools, and, it is estimated that by 2020 half of all public school students will be made up of students from non-English speaking backgrounds. While the populations of im/migrants and English Language Learners have been growing and evolving significantly, their conditions have yet to evolve as significantly, especially in the field of education. Many U.S. schools are ill prepared and fail to address the needs of their im/migrant and ELL students, with poor im/migrant students of color being placed disproportionately in low-ability groups and an emphasis of the problematic monolingual principle in second-language-acquisition programs (American Psychological Association [APA], 2014). Using bilingual strategies instead of emphasizing English-only strategies would build upon an im/migrant and ELL students’ prior knowledge and enhance high order and critical thinking skills yet such strategies are not provided for all im/migrant and ELL students, especially poor students, and, therefore, many students must work through the linguicism in their schools. In some situations students with limited English proficiency are encouraged to give up their mother tongue, when in fact, the more they improve in their native
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language, the better they will learn English. Sometimes in the same school English-speaking students are encouraged to learn a second language and become bilingual‌ Such a situation not only presents a double standard but perpetuates power imbalances among groups of people in our society. (Schniedewind & Davidson, 2006, p. 20) Educators, including art educators, are not comprehensively trained to work with im/migrant and ELL students, and many ELL students struggle with their educational outcomes. ELL students continue to have disproportionately high dropout rates, low graduation rates, and low college completion rates. Achievement data suggest that ELLs not only lag far behind their peers, but the gaps grow as students advance through the grade levels. (Chao, Olsen, & Schenkel, 2013, p. 6) Not only does a disproportionate amount of im/migrants and English Language Learners struggle in the education, but im/migrants and English Language Learners also have unique mental health struggles. According to APA (2014), within im/migrant populations, there are a variety of mental health issues, such as anxiety, PTSD, and depression, and there is a higher presence of mental illness and suicidal thoughts, with refugees, LGTBTQA+ im/migrants, undocumented im/migrants, and elderly im/migrants being more vulnerable to mental health issues. Issues such as acculturation, trauma, xenophobia, racism, linguicism, and a lower socioeconomic status can negatively affect the mental health of im/migrants and English Language Learners; and with the lack of appropriate and culturally sensitive mental health facilities that provide culturally trained
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professionals, interpreters, and resources for accessing services, these populations fall through the cracks of the mental health field. While there is a lack of research on the accessibility of art education and art therapy for im/migrants and English Language Learners and their affect on these populations, through related statistics (such as those previously presented), personal accounts, and few studies available, one can come to the conclusion that im/migrants and English Language Learners are less likely to have access to art education and art therapy and, yet, would benefit highly from such programs. For example, 73% of English learners are Spanish speakers (Chao, Olsen, & Schenkel, 2013, p. 6), many of which are Latin@s, the largest growing population of both im/migrants and native-born Americans in the country. According to Americans for the Arts (2013), the arts education decline has hit Latin@ (and Black American) students the hardest, with 26% of 18-24 year-old Latin@s in 2008 reporting that they grew up with an arts education. Yet, Dr. Susan Britsch (2009) points out that visual literacy is key to learning English and should be a priority in training teachers of ELL students; and art therapist Evan Marxen (2003) mentions that artistic creation for im/migrants and English Language Learners can reduce the importance of verbalization, can provide a more comforting and safe situation of exploration, can affirm cultural identities, and can provide autonomy. Further more, art has become a vital tool for the Immigrants Rights Movement; artists that are im/migrants or children of im/migrants have tied their art to the movement, including undocumented artists. To provide further accessibility to art education for im/migrants and English Language Learners would be to enhance their skills and knowledge and to empower them emotionally and politically. The Language of Art program will be a safe space that
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enriches the skills, knowledge, and emotional well-being of im/migrants and English language learners through art. The Program The Language of Art program will be located in Tampa, Florida, a city that has been strongly influenced by im/migrant communities for hundreds of years. During the 19th Century, im/migrants from Cuba, Spain, and Sicily arrived to Tampa to work in cigar factories, while im/migrants from Romania opened shops and German im/migrants brought in what was then state-of-the-art printing and engraving technology (Ybor Chamber of Commerce, 2011). The establishment of Ybor City, a historical district of Tampa and where the cigar factories were housed, is considered a significant moment of im/migrant history in the country, especially in Spanish and Cuban im/migrant history. The im/migrants of the late 19th Century and early 20th Century established mutual aid societies to meet their unique needs; the buildings that hosted these societies now mainly serve as event venues (Visit Tampa Bay, 2013). According to the United States Census Bureau (2012), 15.1% of Tampa residents are foreign-born, of which 44.4% are naturalized U.S. citizens and 55.6% are non-citizens, higher than the nation’s average percentage of foreign-born residents. 3.6% of the foreign-born population arrived in Tampa during 2010 or later, while 96.4% arrived prior to 2010. The largest group of the foreign-born population is the Latin@ foreign-born population, with 64.9% of foreignborn residents coming from Latin America; the second largest group is the Asian foreignborn population, with 18% of foreign-born residents coming from Asia. Further more, 25.2% of Tampa residents speak a language other than English at home, of which 10.3% speak English less than “very well.� Spanish speakers at 18.4% make up the largest group
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of those with non-English speaking backgrounds, 8% of wich speak English less than “very well.” With a large population of im/migrants and those of non-English speaking backgrounds, Tampa is an ideal location for a program like the Language of Art program. Through a partnership with the Tampa Museum of Art and the Santaella Studios for the Arts, the Language of Art program will offer free workshops for all ages and abilities, including: workshops for children and teens; an afterschool art club for children and teens; an art camp for children and teens during school breaks; a mentorship program for selected teens; English Through Art History and Art Making workshops for teens and adults; and open studio sessions for all ages. The children and teens’ art making workshops will be held on one Saturday of every month and will be separated by the students’ age range, with children (those within the age range of 5 and 10) having a workshop for two hours in the early afternoon and teens (those within the age range of 11 and 17) having a workshop for two hours in the later afternoon. These workshops will require no commitment to other children and teens’ workshops, allowing for different volunteers to lead the workshops, while the art club will require students to register for a semester (4 months) and will need at least two to three regular volunteers to facilitate the art learning environment. The art club will be a two-hour, mixed age (a range within 5 to 12 years old) student-centered learning environment, making each semester a unique experience. The art camp will be project-based and will be led by one to two volunteers depending on the complexity of a project. For winter and spring break, there will only be a 1 week long session for both children and teens while, for summer break, there will be 6 week long sessions. The students will be separated the same way as they will be in the Saturday workshops and will be required to commit to the full week of a session. The
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mentorship program will offer four teens within the age range of 13 to 18 every spring a chance to partner with studio artists of the Santaella Studios for the Arts to develop their skills as working artists. Interested students must apply by the deadline (three weeks before the program begins) by filling out an application and writing a letter of interest. For two months, students will meet with their designated artist mentors twice a week for two hours each meeting; the artist mentors will instruct students in their craft and the business involved in being a working artist. Depending on the language skills of the students and artists, volunteer interpreters will be available for the meetings. At the end of the program, there will be a private graduation dinner and ceremony for the students, artists, interpreters, and their loved ones. The English Through Art History and English Through Art Making workshops will be available to individuals at least 13 years old interested in developing their English acquisition skills through art. These workshops will be held one night a week for two months with a month gap between rotations. The themes of the workshops will vary depending on volunteer availability, interest, and skill; for example, one rotation could be an English Through Art History workshop focusing on studying the history of folk art in Latin America and the next rotation could be an English Through Art Making workshop focusing on creating video art. Volunteers with knowledge or experience in art or art history and working with ELL students will lead these workshops. Finally, there will be an open session held once a month for two hours each session. In these sessions, participants of all ages have the option of sharing with the group their struggles, victories, and stories before creating their own works. Participants will either use their own supplies or supplies provided by the program and will not be requited to commit to other sessions. Along with these workshops, the Language of Art
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program will work with organizations and institutions for outreach, such as hosting a oneday art workshop at a disability resource center for disabled individuals of various diasporas.
Figure 1: A sample schedule for the Language of Art program.
All Language of Art workshops will be held at the Santaella Studios for the Arts and, in its infancy, volunteers will be recruited to lead and aid workshops. Special preferences will be given to volunteers that are multilingual, knowledgeable in art making and art history, and experienced in working with students of all abilities. While the program will exist through and utilize resources from the Tampa Museum of Art and the Santaella Studios for the Arts, the program will have its own equipment and supplies, such as computers, storage equipment, art making supplies, and multilingual/ELL resources, and will reimburse the Santaella Studios for the use of its facility. For its first year, the Language of Art program will have a budget of $8,980 and, as the program progresses, the annual budget will shift to meet new financial needs, such as salaries for those leading workshops.
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Figure 2: Sample of the first annual budget for the Language of Art program.
Credentials On a personal and emotional level, I have an understanding of im/migrants and English Language Learners as I am a migrant, I was an ELL student, and, through the emotional and academic struggles I experienced in the beginning stages of migration and English learning, I discovered art as a way of healing. My personal experiences led me to the path of art education and exceptional student education. Along with my training and experience in art education and ESE, I have studied how to work with ELL students and plan to earn my ESOL endorsement. Additionally, my experiences in working for nonprofit organizations, like the Pensacola Museum of Art, has provided me with the knowledge I need to create the Language of Art program through the Tampa Museum of Art and the Santaella Studios for the Arts. While I have varied experiences and knowledge that are essential to creating this program, I understand that I am limited in other aspects, such as financing and marketing. For my limitations, I will collaborate with several of the Tampa Museum of Art staff, specifically the Public Relations Specialist, the Associate Director of Development, and the Director of Finance, and the director of the Santaella Studios for the Arts. I will also collaborate with community leaders of various diasporas present in Tampa in order to
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evolve the Language of Art program into a program that meets the specific needs and desires of Tampa’s im/migrants and English Language Learners. Funding There are two potential grants that can be used for the Language of Art program: a Community Innovation Grant from the Bush Foundation and a Cultural Development Grant from the Arts Council of Hillsborough County. Those that want to work with their community (whether it be a geographical community or a community of common interest or racial/cultural identity) can apply for a Community Innovation Grant of $10,000 to $200,000 from the Bush Foundation (Bush Foundation, 2014). The Bush Foundation has supported those servicing im/migrants, refugees, and English Language Learners and shows no sign of changing their commitment to support all communities. A nonprofit within Hillsborough County in need of money for a specific project (like the Language of Art) can apply for the Arts Council’s Cultural Development Grant that awards $15,000 to $20,000 for specific projects. Other fundraising strategies will be utilized to support the Language of Art. To gather funds for equipment and supplies, a fundraising page will be set up on indiegogo.com, with a program trailer used as a visual tool to inform people of the program and perks from set donations to be awarded for donators, such as hand printed thank you cards, illustrations, upcycled crafts, etc. For sustained funding needs, such as reimbursing the Santaella Studios for the Arts for utilizing its facility, the program will have a vendor’s table at Ybor City Saturday Market each Saturday and at festivals that celebrate art and culture (such as Fiesta Day) to showcase the work created through the program, to connect with the community, and to sell upcycled crafts created specifically
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for these events, such as suncatchers, screen printed fabric, etc. Along with a vendor’s table for events, an online store will be set up with the same goals (to showcase, connect, and sell). These will also be used as a means to raise funds for staff salaries when the program evolves from being volunteer-led. Finally, the program will present a students’ art show every six months to showcase students’ work in which visitors will donate a suggested fee to enter. Along with showcasing students’ work, a video will play to showcase the program’s activities throughout the year and a dedicated student will provide a speech on their perspective of the program, along with one or two speeches from the volunteers. The majority of art show proceeds will support the mentorship program while a small percentage of the proceeds will be used for the rest of the sustained funding needs. Conclusion With the proven benefits of art education and art therapy and the struggles that im/migrants and English Language Learners have to overcome, the lack of accessibility in art education for these populations is disheartening and should be challenged. The Language of Art program will be a safe space for im/migrants and English Language Learners to partake in art creation and learning. Through the program, students will have the opportunity to engage, learn, and create while sustaining their languages and cultures and enhancing their English acquisition skills in a supportive environment that affirms their identities. The Language of Art program will work to empower im/migrants and English Language Learners and concurrently positively impact our society.
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