Girls Rule Art!

Abstract

Abstract Arts-based programs can provide space for forcibly displaced youth to process pre-migration and resettlement experiences creatively. While these programs can facilitate growth and healing, limited research addresses forcibly displaced girls’ perceived benefits of engaging in arts-based programs. Through in-depth interviews with 20 high school girls who resettled in a Midwest City in the United States, I explore this group's motivation to engage in arts-based activities like dance, drama, and theater. My findings suggest that participants engaged in arts-based programs to explore their artistic interests, connect with other girls with similar cultural identities, and manage feelings of homesickness and loss. I discuss how schools and community organizations can tailor arts-based programs to help forcibly displaced girls manage socio-emotional and educational needs.