BuildaBridge Community Programs

Every artist is familiar with the paralysis brought on by the challenge of a blank canvas; the smooth, white, pristine expanse daring you to put down your first mark.  Today, our group of Bhutanese Elders may have experienced this for the first time. They faced it, fought with it and conquered it. Week after week, I am struck and inspired by the smiles and spiritual calm of our group members who have endured and thrived through so much hardship in their lives. While sharing their stories through drawn symbols and words, they have given us hints as to what underlies their ability to live in gratitude and grace. This strength and character, however, did not make them immune to the fear of the seemingly small challenge before them. When we announced that this was the day they would start their mural, actually putting colored marks onto the large canvas (mind you traced ones over our penciled sketch), they unanimously declined.  There was a long pause and then a rash of heated Nep...

BuildaBridge completed Year 3 activities of the Philadelphia Refugee Mental Health Collaborative on June 30th, 2014.  Funding continued from the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual DisAbility Services, the Sheila Fortune Foundation and Union Benevolent Association.  Seventy-six refugees from three different populations were served during the past year. Read the full Year 3 Report. BuildaBridge would like to honor and thank the following artists who have contributed to the success of the Refugee Project for at least two or more years: Celeste Wade Natalie Hoffmann Julia Crawford Christine Byma Jessica LaBarca Robert Kelleher Stevie French Danielle Owen Liz Green For full biography and current position information, see the Personnel page .

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 th...

Click the image to see more photos Bhutanese elders are telling their story through art.  Using a variety of art mediums, including painting as shown in these photos, the elders are working towards the creation of two permanent pieces that will communicate their journey and message to the next generation.  As part of BuildaBridge's contracted partnership with Nationalities Services Center for the Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience, BuildaBridge artists provide twice monthly art classes for the elders in South Philadelphia. 

      The Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience (PPR) has been pleased to partner with BuildaBridge International since July 2013 in the provision of therapeutic arts groups for immigrant and refugee survivors of torture for the past year.  Through this partnership, we have been able to utilize the healing power of the arts to serve new Americans migrating from Iraq, Sudan, Eritrea, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, and others.        Many of our clients arrive in Philadelphia without family or friends in the region.  They balance the demands of learning English, searching for and starting their first jobs in the United States, attending to medical needs, acculturating, and raising children.  Many of them are struggling with the emotional impact of their torture and trauma history, and the grief and loss associated with forced migration and fleeing persecution.  Torture survivors may experience isolation stemming from feeling as though oth...

Over the course of one's lifetime, the boundaries of one's home, work and social environments will shift based on the choices one makes personally and professionally.    For a refugee, personal, professional and social boundaries are often out of their control.   A refugee may not be able to decide on the country into which they flee. Though a refugee may hold an advanced degree in their country of origin, they may not be able to pursue a career in that sector because of the language barrier Upon arrival, the location of their new home is often determined by the refugee resettlement agency handling their case. A refugee often experiences the loss of social networks, anxiety regarding the uncertainty of finding new connections and the fear of isolation in the new country. How does BuildaBridge programming seek to combat these at-risk factors and build protective factors among incoming refugee populations?   By providing culturally specific art therapy and therapeutic ...

To invest:  to give or devote time, talent or finances for a purpose or to achieve something To transform:  to change in condition, appearance or character BuildaBridge's mission is to engage creative people and the transformative power of art making to bring hope and healing to children, families, and communities in the contexts of crisis and poverty.  BuildaBridge envisions a world where all children are resilient, experience self-efficacy, and have a vision for their future. BuildaBridge dedicates its resources to building the capacity of creative adults and local communities to fulfill this vision. For the second year in a row, The Sheila Fortune Foundation and the Union Benevolent Association have both invested in the transformation that has been occurring in the lives of the refugees BuildaBridge serves through the Refugee Project. Since April of 2013, the Refugee Project has served 110 refugees, 91 of whom were children.  Each child attending BuildaBridge...