Abstract

New immigrant adolescents entering the school system in Quebec face diverse challenges related to their integration in the host society and school. Studies suggest that immigrant adolescents conceive language as an impediment to achieve social and academic integration. The aim of this theoretically-based research is to develop a better understanding of the role that Art Therapy can play in the process of academic and social integration of immigrant adolescents by offering spaces of inclusion, based on alternative methods of communication between new immigrant adolescents and general class students.
The literature analysis corroborates the value and role of community art spaces or third spaces permanently based in schools, to generate alternative means of communication that fosters and prioritizes self-expression. Concurring with neo colonialism and decolonial thinking, creative processes can be fostered through community art studios called art hives, counteracting and contesting social dynamics and power struggles to facilitate social and cultural inclusion, in addition to academic integration. This process takes place in physical and symbolic spaces, where borders and differences are redefined.