Arts, Culture, and Creativity as a Strategy for Countering the Negative Social Impacts of Immigration Stress and Gentrification

Abstract

<i>Background</i>. This article looks at the role that arts, culture, and creativity play in promoting social cohesion and community well-being. It presents research on the role that a community arts center plays in an ethnic enclave that is under stress of immigration and gentrification. <i>Method</i>. An academic-community research partnership conducted this research. A mixed-methods approach was used. Twenty-four interviews were conducted with stakeholders (including community leaders, neighborhood residents, and business owners). Surveys (<i>n</i> = 102) were done of community members and those who participate in the Center activities. <i>Results</i>. Interviewees and survey respondents point to the importance of the ethnic enclave as a close-knot community that helps to foster a sense of belonging, security, and cultural identity. Arts, culture, and creativity plays a role in maintaining this sense of social cohesion, despite the threat of gentrification. Engagement in the arts and creative practice are important for buffering the stress of immigration. <i>Discussion</i>. The center has an important role as a critical cultural, civic, and creative space for the neighborhood and the broader community who sees the ethnic enclave as their cultural home.