Interview with Skye Louis: A Meatpackers Immigration Journey Artworks
In 2021 ActionDignity partnered with Trico Changemakers Studio to test out an artist-in-residence program. We wanted to explore this option because we really believe that art can help propel social change. Through this pilot program we were connected with Skye Louise, a local artist in Calgary.
Over the course of 2021 Skye created two compelling images that visually highlight the stories im/migrant and refugees who have ended up working at meatpacking plants, from the Migrant Dignity Project Report. This report presents the findings from a community-university research partnership between researchers from the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University and ActionDignity. Data for this report comes from a survey of 224 im/migrant and refugee workers in Alberta’s meatpacking industry and 17 qualitative interviews. The survey and interviews took place between January and May 2021.
A team of multilingual researchers conducted first language interviews with 17 im/migrant and refugee workers who work in meat processing in Alberta. The interviews were transcribed and translated to English. The survey was available in five languages including English. The goal of this research project was to understand the conditions that produce vulnerability for im/migrant and refugee workers in Alberta’s meatpacking industry.
We sat down with Skye in May to chat about the project.
This interview, presented in the artist’s own words, has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
Music by BalanceBay from Pixabay
You can also access the Interview with Skye Louis: A Meatpackers Immigration Journey Artworks in Written Form by clicking Here!
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