Information Sheet 17: Arts-based methodologies: Exploring Asian-Canadian youth identities and experiences

Abstract

Youth from Asian backgrounds in Canada represent a heterogenous group of young people. May is recognized as the Asian Heritage Month (Government of Canada, 2021). According to Statistics Canada (2016) between 2006 and 2011, of all newcomers to Canada, 13.1% were born in the Philippines, 10.5% were Chinese-born, and 10.4% were Indian-born. Today, Canada is one of the world’s most ethno-culturally diverse countries with ethnic minorities representing 19.1% of the total population. The South Asian population is the largest ethnic group in the country, accounting for 25% of the visible minority population and 4.8% of the total population. Asian-Canadian youth have resiliencies and at the same time encounter barriers to their inclusion in Canadian society (Khanlou et al, 2018). The challenges they face may include language barriers; balancing different and gendered family, cultural and religious expectations; and experiences of discrimination and racism. Innovative methods are needed to better understand youth’s lived experiences, such as in relation to their identities and integration to Canadian society. Arts-based research encompasses approaches that use artistic forms and expressions to understand personal experiences. Arts-based approaches are considered relevant to explore and communicate youth’s experiences with, for example, racism and marginalization (Clover, 2011; Halverson, 2010).