Session C1. Migration Stories

Presenters:
Mark Diaz, Associate Director of Education, Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education
Patty Okulinski, Teaching Artist, Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education 

This session explores how centering personal narratives—particularly those of migrants—shapes what stories are told, how they are understood, and how they are shared. Based on a RAISE classroom experience with a newly arrived student from Venezuela, the workshop demonstrates how artmaking can become a bridge for communication when language poses a barrier. In the classroom, students created collage-based paper luggage filled with representations of objects they would bring if forced to leave home. The session mirrors the original student project wherein classmates deepened their empathy for the newcomer’s journey to Chicago. 

Through hands-on art making, workshop participants explore how images of personal objects function as narrative elements, revealing the weight of displacement and acclimation to place. The sharing component further reinforces the guiding question by foregrounding whose voices are amplified by encouraging participants to articulate their own stories. By modeling the teaching artist’s role as mediator and facilitator of student voice, the workshop highlights how centering marginalized or newcomer perspectives shifts collective understanding. Ultimately, the session demonstrates that artmaking not only shares stories but reshapes how they are received, retold, and valued.