A MANUAL FOR REFUGEE SERVICE WORKERS AND REFUGEE ARTISTS

Written by Kate Modic, Folklorist, and Ron Kirby, Director, Refugee and Immigration Services

Foreword by Shalom Staub

Several years ago, a unique configuration of state programs facilitated the development of this exciting project. At the time, as Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Heritage Affairs Commission (PHAC), I had the pleasure of overseeing the State Folk life Program, directed by Amy Skillman and the Office of Refugee and Immigration Programs, directed by Ron Kirby. The work of both programs within the commission framework of the PHAC enabled us to identify new approaches and explore new opportunities for cross-program fertilization.

One of the collaborative efforts led us to look more closely at the role of culture in refugee resettlement. The more we looked, the more evidence we gathered that treating culture and traditional arts as an integral part of the refugee experience contributes to successful resettlement at both the individual and community levels. As we interacted with artists, community leaders and refugee workers throughout Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic region, we realized that we needed to develop a conference to mobilize this interest and energy.

Our conference on Refugee Arts and Community Stability was held in July, 1995, in Philadelphia and funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, the Fund for Folk Culture, and PECO. The conference addressed issues of arts, cultural heritage, and community in the context of the refugee resettlement program. The conference was extremely successful and has been called historic and a landmark by those in attendance.

Out of this conference was born the Refugee Arts and Community Stability Project, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Fund for Folk Culture. This project, based on the innovative work of the original conference and has encouraged resettlement agencies, refugee service providers, artists, community leaders, and cultural specialists in the mid-Atlantic region to work together towards a greater role for arts and cultural heritage in the resettlement process. The region has also seen increased support for individual artists to continue their artistic and cultural traditions.

A number of participants in the 1995 Conference noted the lack of any information on refugee traditional arts and the need for refugee workers to have some guidance if they were to identify and assist refugee artists. As a result, the development of a refugee arts manual became a project goal. At a subsequent mini-conference on refugee arts convened by the Institute of Cultural Partnerships in Newark, New Jersey on August 15th- 17th, 1997, participants reviewed an early draft of this manual and suggested a number of changes. Participants suggested a more practical hands-on approach as well as a section for the refugee artists themselves. These ideas and others have been incorporated into this version of the manual.

Click here to view the Table of Contents