A Place of Our Own? Immigrants' Sense of Place and Belonging Within Art Spaces

• In Event: Community and Urban Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 9: Culture

Abstract

Art museums prove to be a complex space. Simultaneously a vestige of colonial or racial domination (Anderson 2006; Cooks 2011; Lonetree 2012) and an optimistic site of communal well-being and creative placemaking (Grodach 2010, 2011; Lipsitz 2011; Cooks 2011; Lonetree 2012), previous research conducted by Stern et. al. (2010) indicated immigrants tend to prefer more informal or private venues to partake in the consumption or creation of art. Children of immigrants were more likely to engage in formal cultural spaces, although not to the same degree as their native-born peers. Although this dynamic is apparent, the authors were unable to fully assign a cause or explanation for this outcome. Going forward, I aim to uncover the reasoning behind this discrepancy by conducting semi-structured interviews with immigrants, children of immigrants, and native-born individuals residing in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. Although Oklahoma City is not considered an artistic and cultural hub, especially in comparison to larger, cosmopolitan cities often associated with such conceptions, the state boasts an arts and culture sector that constitutes 2% of the state’s GDP (4.8 billion) and 42,292 jobs- numbers stemming from numerous arts districts, museums, and performance halls (American for the Arts Action Fund 2024). Similarly, Oklahoma City may not be considered very diverse in the national imagination, but immigrants make up 6.1 percent of Oklahoma’s population, and 4 percent of Oklahoma’s native-born population have at least 1 immigrant parent (245,500 and 153,000, respectively) (American Immigrants Council 2025). Despite museums' storied past, many have, and continue to demonstrate concerted efforts to be an accessible and welcoming space. Given the benefits embedded in such art spaces, this research will be conducted to draw immigrant communities closer to spaces that contain opportunities for creative placemaking and increase their sense of belonging.

Author

• Afruza Aminul, Texas A&M University-College Station