The role of participation in artistic projects in migrant teenagers' interactions. Case Study of the Imaginary Micro Museum Project, in Herstal, Belgium.

Abstract

The thesis examines how and to what extent participation in artistic project shapes social interactions among young migrants in their new country of residence. The study draws on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Herstal in the context of the project Micro Musée Imaginaire created to enable easier access to cultural and artistic venues for teenagers. Through observations, interviews and artworks attention was given to participation in its different forms, paying attention to the agency of participants themselves and the conditions enabling or constraining their involvement. The study reveals that participation and interaction operate as mutually reinforcing processes, shaped by multiple possibilities and positionalities where artistic practices act as one medium among other through which young migrants navigate their lives. The findings highlight how artistic workshops become spaces of encounters and potential belonging while also exposing the limits of art-based projects and research