Reflections on Career and Wellbeing From Systemically Impacted Immigrant Artists

Abstract

This community-based project centered the voices of fifteen publicly identified immigrant artists to better understand how to promote their career development and wellbeing. The project was guided by the Collaborative Immigration Advocacy framework for action-oriented collaborations and the framework of community-engaged vocational psychology research. Written reflections/interviews were coded and analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research - Modified (CQR-M). Results from analysis highlighted 7 categories across 2 domains: (1) The impact of systemic barriers on artists who are immigrants, and the impact of barriers caused by intersecting systems on the professional development and wellbeing of immigrant artists (i.e., harm from anti-immigrant hostility and tokenism, erasure, guilt, isolation), and (2) What helps immigrant artists thrive and promote wellbeing (i.e., an accepting community, opportunities for self-expression, confidence in cultural identity, strength from joy and self-exploration). These findings have implications for research, theory, practice, policy change that enhance the conditions for emerging artists who are immigrants to affirm their wellbeing in the context of trauma and an anti-immigrant policy.