Community voices and reciprocity: reflections on an arts-based project with adolescents

• In Event: Part 2: Advancing peace, justice and human rights through community-engaged praxis in education

Proposal

This paper presentation explores the practice of engaging with communities by emphasizing reflection and intentional listening in building reciprocal relationships. Drawing on my personal experiences working on an arts-based project, it reflects on how community engagement can foster transformation through collaborative creative practice.
This project, grounded in the praxis of reflection–action–transformation (Fernández, 2018), encapsulated the essence of community engagement, the joy of collaborating with children, youth, and immigrant women, and the transformative potential of art in advancing social justice. In partnership with local community organizations, the five-week program took place in a neighbourhood park in an underserved immigrant community in Toronto. It focused on the intersection of climate change and social justice, engaging racialized immigrant women and youth—many from South Asian and Afghan backgrounds—through art, storytelling, and relational dialogue. My role as a facilitator—shaped by the dual positionality of being both an outsider and an insider—centred on co-creating spaces for artistic expression and reciprocal trust-building (Bergdall, 2013; Mandell, 2007).
I facilitated a series of workshops, inviting young participants to draft four-panel comics capturing their perspectives on environmental issues and climate change. Sessions were divided into storytelling and technical drawing, encouraging youth to choose their materials, subjects, and creative approach—emphasizing there were no right or wrong ways to tell their stories. This process was grounded in reciprocity, defined as a mutual commitment to support within a social system (Kelly et al., 2000), and focused on fostering a trusting space where the youth’s voices and lived experiences were prioritized.
Many participants had migrated from Afghanistan and Pakistan and were adjusting to life in Canada. They used art to express experiences of “home,” environmental care, and social justice concerns. Themes included littering in the park and its impact. Some comics contrasted polluted and clean parks, illustrating consequences and hopes. These stories became windows into their past, present, and future aspirations. I remained aware of how my subjectivities could shape interpretation and revisited dominant climate narratives, shifting away from capitalist logics of profit and consumption to the simplicity of caring for the places and people that sustain community life.
Beyond the artwork, the informal, conversational nature of the sessions—often held on park benches, sharing materials and ideas—became central to building relationships and mutual learning. These interactions transcended language barriers and conventional classroom norms, allowing for a more organic and reciprocal exchange.
Challenges included navigating power dynamics and unexpected language differences, revealing how our assumptions of community familiarity and homogeneity were flawed. These moments underscored the importance of humility, critical self-reflection, and sustained engagement.
By sharing this praxis-oriented reflection, the presentation contributes to scholarship on participatory arts, community-based research, and social justice education. It demonstrates how arts-based methods can create inclusive, empowering spaces for marginalized youth and deepen reciprocal, relational approaches to community engagement.

Author

• Norin Taj, Athabasca University