From the pearl of the orient to uptown : a collaborative arts-based inquiry with Filipino youth activists in Montreal

Informed by social reconstruction, critical pedagogy, and critical multiculturalism, this thesis examines the ways in which collaborative art production can assist a youth activist organization in furthering its goals for individual and collective empowerment. Enacting the roles of the community artist/educator as facilitator and gatherer, two arts-based projects were developed for and with Filipino youth activists in Montreal as a way to extend their community work into art activism. Embracing participatory action research as the primary methodology, this research demonstrates that collaborative art production, tied to the concerns and values of an organization, allows its members to identify and visually represent community problems, connect personal experiences to larger group reality, and envision alternatives for their community. I reflect on my role as a cultural worker in this process and finally, I discuss implications of this research for community art education and community organizing.* *This dissertation is a compound document (contains both a paper copy and a DVD as part of the dissertation). The DVD requires the following system requirements: Windows MediaPlayer or RealPlaye