Art student explores immigrant experience

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This article was published 12/11/2016 (3258 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Marcela Reyes carefully rolled out clay and sculpted it in the form of a flower — the outline of the petals representing her journey as a Colombian immigrant.

Reyes described the bittersweet experience of coming to Canada back in 2009. It was an exciting time, but also terribly sad when she had to leave her family.

“Something good, something not,” she said as she traced her finger through the highs and lows of the sculpture. “But the line is continuing, which means there are ups and downs.”

She also incorporated the sun into her piece, representing happiness in her new country.

“My family is here now, and my children’s lives are changed,” Reyes said.

Reyes, along with her English as a second language class, participated in a clay workshop on Thursday at the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba. The workshop was hosted by Brandon University fine arts student Albyn Carias. Now in his fifth year of studies, he is working on his thesis — delving into the stories, experiences and struggles of immigrants in Brandon.

Carias, who is originally from El Salvador, immigrated to Canada nine years ago with his family. His parents were recruited to work at Maple Leaf Foods.

“Because of the Maple Leaf involvement, Brandon has become this massive place where all cultures have come together,” he said. “It sounds really great but at the same time, there’s a lot of cultural difficulties that is attached to it.”

Starting a whole new life while adapting to a new culture and climate comes with its challenges.

“Issues around the language barrier, how we came here together, and … there’s also subjects like racism that will be attached to it and stereotypes and discriminations,” he said. “Those things that do go on but is not being discussed.”

During the workshop, Carias had each student create a piece to represent their own journey. The class from Assiniboine Community College represented immigrants from Colombia, Vietnam, El Salvador, China, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Mexico, Nigeria and Sudan. The end product will link them all together and be hung up on the wall as one piece. This will be one component of Carias’ thesis, which will be presented next year.

“I’m learning as I go through this,” Carias said. “My main theme is to create discussion when it comes to immigration here in Brandon. This workshop, I’m just giving them a chance to have fun with it.”

Yolanda Quiring, ESL instructor at ACC, has watched Carias grow up in Brandon. She first taught him when he was in middle school and he then went on to high school with her own children. They stayed in touch over the years and when his thesis idea came up, she was happy to be a part of it with her class.

“That’s what this class is all about — real life, trying to incorporate into this culture with their English and their actions,” Quiring said.

The students also submitted a written piece to Carias, talking about their journey to Canada and their own experiences.

“I told my class this is a journey that we’re on with a local artist. We don’t know the twists and turns because he’s figuring out as he goes.”

» jaustin@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @jillianaustin

Trump ‘built up a lot of fear’

BY JILLIAN AUSTIN

Part of Albyn Carias’ motivation for his thesis on immigration came after watching the sensational and shocking American election campaign.

“With (Donald) Trump being elected, there needs to be a conversation about what Brandon is, so that’s my aim,” he said. “He built up a lot of fear when it came to the Syrian refugees, like the way they dressed.”

His goal is to create conversations about the challenges faced by newcomers, while helping people understand different cultures.

“Some people have attitudes, some people have really kind hearts … This is an emphasis on people themselves,” he said.

His parents worked hard to bring the family to Canada, and Carias said he saw them endure discrimination as they began their new life.

“They struggled a little more, so this work is mostly for them,” he said. “Brandon has had a huge welcoming side to it, as well as some bad things that have happened. That’s why I want to discuss this.”

Many immigrants in Brandon spoke about how thankful they are to be on this side of the Canada-United States border, following Trump’s victory.

“Here is my home now, and here is very different than the U.S.,” said Francisco Alonso, originally from Mexico. “Here, the feeling is good, you feel comfortable … You feel, you see the support of the Canadian people for immigrant people. You can feel that, and that is very important.”

Meanwhile, Girma Samuel of Ethiopia, said he is still shocked by the U.S. election results, and the implications it may have for immigrants south of the border.

“In the process of the election campaign, I heard a lot of things that Donald Trump planned to do if he is elected the president of the United States,” he said. “That’s why I’m just shocked.”

Birhane Adane of Sudan arrived in Brandon in 2012, and is grateful for the city he now calls home.

“When I came to Canada, I saw a lot of improvement in my life. It changes your life,” he said. “I have seen a lot of stuff, so just for me Brandon is the best place.”

» jaustin@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @jillianaustin