Crafting Recognition: Understanding Gendered and Ethnicised Experiences in an Arts-Based Integration Project
In Denmark, heightened public interest surrounding migration politics has become embodied in the arts, leading to the development of migration-related arts projects. In this study we explore the experiences of women taking part in an arts-based integration project designed for migrant and Danish wom...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Arts |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/12/6/227 |
| _version_ | 1797382081904377856 |
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| author | Stella Grace Conard Elena Horton |
| author_facet | Stella Grace Conard Elena Horton |
| author_sort | Stella Grace Conard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In Denmark, heightened public interest surrounding migration politics has become embodied in the arts, leading to the development of migration-related arts projects. In this study we explore the experiences of women taking part in an arts-based integration project designed for migrant and Danish women to knit, sew, and crochet in female company, with a view to professionalise their handicrafts. Our findings, which are grounded in ethnographic fieldwork as well as interviews with members of the group, demonstrate how handicraft acts as a prism through which categories such as gender, class, and ethnicity are negotiated within the project. We found that group members’ national and cultural backgrounds shaped their different expectations and experiences in the project. The roles they occupied and their self-perception within the group were also shaped by other factors, such as their family status, their state of employment, and whether handicraft was more of a ‘hobby’ or a source of income. The study makes a case for appreciating the importance of social recognition. Understanding how these women perceived their own and each other’s work becomes a magnifier of the socio-political context in which the integration project is situated. Artistic practice both enabled members to respond to an integration and refugee discourse, while simultaneously positioning them within such frameworks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:00:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-22f1ab6757c8437292ccc697a7d7a02f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0752 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:00:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arts |
| spelling | doaj.art-22f1ab6757c8437292ccc697a7d7a02f2023-12-22T13:52:27ZengMDPI AGArts2076-07522023-10-0112622710.3390/arts12060227Crafting Recognition: Understanding Gendered and Ethnicised Experiences in an Arts-Based Integration ProjectStella Grace Conard0Elena Horton1The Centre for Advanced Migration Studies, University of Copenhagen, DK-2300 Copenhagen, DenmarkThe Centre for Advanced Migration Studies, University of Copenhagen, DK-2300 Copenhagen, DenmarkIn Denmark, heightened public interest surrounding migration politics has become embodied in the arts, leading to the development of migration-related arts projects. In this study we explore the experiences of women taking part in an arts-based integration project designed for migrant and Danish women to knit, sew, and crochet in female company, with a view to professionalise their handicrafts. Our findings, which are grounded in ethnographic fieldwork as well as interviews with members of the group, demonstrate how handicraft acts as a prism through which categories such as gender, class, and ethnicity are negotiated within the project. We found that group members’ national and cultural backgrounds shaped their different expectations and experiences in the project. The roles they occupied and their self-perception within the group were also shaped by other factors, such as their family status, their state of employment, and whether handicraft was more of a ‘hobby’ or a source of income. The study makes a case for appreciating the importance of social recognition. Understanding how these women perceived their own and each other’s work becomes a magnifier of the socio-political context in which the integration project is situated. Artistic practice both enabled members to respond to an integration and refugee discourse, while simultaneously positioning them within such frameworks.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/12/6/227migrationhandicraftswomen in craftmaterial cultureintegrationrecognition |
| spellingShingle | Stella Grace Conard Elena Horton Crafting Recognition: Understanding Gendered and Ethnicised Experiences in an Arts-Based Integration Project Arts migration handicrafts women in craft material culture integration recognition |
| title | Crafting Recognition: Understanding Gendered and Ethnicised Experiences in an Arts-Based Integration Project |
| title_full | Crafting Recognition: Understanding Gendered and Ethnicised Experiences in an Arts-Based Integration Project |
| title_fullStr | Crafting Recognition: Understanding Gendered and Ethnicised Experiences in an Arts-Based Integration Project |
| title_full_unstemmed | Crafting Recognition: Understanding Gendered and Ethnicised Experiences in an Arts-Based Integration Project |
| title_short | Crafting Recognition: Understanding Gendered and Ethnicised Experiences in an Arts-Based Integration Project |
| title_sort | crafting recognition understanding gendered and ethnicised experiences in an arts based integration project |
| topic | migration handicrafts women in craft material culture integration recognition |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/12/6/227 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stellagraceconard craftingrecognitionunderstandinggenderedandethnicisedexperiencesinanartsbasedintegrationproject AT elenahorton craftingrecognitionunderstandinggenderedandethnicisedexperiencesinanartsbasedintegrationproject |