The Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria has embarked on the I’ve Not Always Been Canadian project, a series of community storytelling forums to discover what it took for immigrants to feel as if they belonged — to be Canadian.
The association has begun to hold community talks on the question: What makes you feel Canadian, or alternatively, un-Canadian? It’s part of a refugee and immigrant photo essay created to celebrate Canada 150.
“We are keen to hear stories from all new Canadians — from people who have just arrived to those who have been here 40 years — on how they integrated,” said Paulina Grainger, arts and outreach co-ordinator for the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria. “One of the answers we are very interested in finding out is: ‘When did you feel that you belong?’ ”
She said that most newcomers might look, talk, worship and dress differently when they arrive.
The first phase of the project centre on storytelling forums, where recently arrived refugees, as well as people who settled in the country in the distant past, are asked to articulate the journey they experienced on the way to discovering their Canadian identity.
The project will also record First Nations perspectives, said Grainger.
The second phase comprises a refugee and immigrant photo-essay project, compiled by a theatre director and photojournalist. The stories from the forums will be translated into portraits to give “fuller, visual expression” to the idea of being Canadian.
The project is meant to increase public awareness and facilitate a deeper understanding of the country’s cultural, ethnic and religious diversity.
“It is meant to widen and broaden the fabric of what it means to be Canadian,” said Grainger.
The I’ve Not Always Been Canadian storytelling forums continue:
Friday, April 7, 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria, 930 Balmoral Rd.
Saturday, May 6, 1 to 4:30 p.m. at the Cedar Hill Recreation Centre, 3220 Cedar Hill Rd.
Registration for the forum is free. For more information, contact: Paulina Grainger at [email protected].
The competed project will be unveiled at an interactive launch, Nov. 23 at the Royal B.C. Museum, 675 Belleville St.
This initiative is made possible by financing from Community Fund for Canada’s 150th, a collaboration between the Government of Canada and the Victoria Foundation.
For more information, go to icavictoria.org.
