What would your mask communicate?

As part of Nationalities Services Center's (NSC) Refugee Employment and Advancement Program (REAP), BuildaBridge teaching artists Francesca and Stevie provide weekly therapeutic art groups that seek to teach English, occupational and life skills to participants through drama, movement and the visual arts. For the past two weeks, participants, who are adult refugees from numerous countries in the English as a Second Language (ESL) class, created masks out of paper mache and decorative ornamental items. During the most recent class, participants were asked to express a movement of their mask (shown in the photo above) and describe their mask in written English. In their written descriptions, with prompts from the teaching artists, their masks communicated participants' cultures, personal identities and journeys; they communicated their hopes, feelings and dreams. This exercise was also practice for reading and writing in English.

Drama exercises are incorporated throughout the group to allow for individual creative expression and the development of teamwork. Pass the clap is used as the group's opening and closing ritual -- turn to the person on your right, both of you clap at the same time. Then that person passes the clap to the next person and so on until it goes all the way around the circle. More recently, participants engaged in an exercise where one person acted as the 'boss' and another, the 'interviewee'. Once the interview was finished, the group provided feedback to the actors, and discussed what they learned about good interviewing techniques which they will then utilize in a real interview.

This ESL class, part of the REAP program, seeks to assist refugees in advancing their occupational skills in the hopes of finding employment. BuildaBridge is a part of this process, facilitating art-making experiences that allow participants to explore their identities, hopes and dreams; and teach key life and occupational skills as refugees transition to life in the United States.

For images from the most recent class and participants' artwork, see the photo album.

For more information on REAP, visit NSC's website.

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