Drawing her Story

Cultural integration project

Drawing her Story works towards integration, social and cultural participation, and enlarging the self awareness of non-European immigrant women by giving them drawing workshops in which the stories of the women are the starting point. The immigrant women are partnered with Dutch women living in the same neighbourhood and together they draw each other's stories.

Whilst the course itself is important for the participants, the second part of the project plays a more vital role. The drawings that are made during the course will be exhibited at different locations. These exhibitions will travel to the local community centres in the neighbourhood where the workshops took place, to libraries, and to other local organisations. Here NIKA organises public discussions, initiated by the drawings, where the participants are invited to take the lead in the discussions.

To accompany the course a selection of the drawings together with the stories of the women have been collated in a catalogue. Click Photos, film, catalogues, manual to find the catalogues.

Drawing her Story was first undertaken in seven Dutch councils in the province of North Holland, from November 2008 until August 2009. This period was used by NIKA as a period of research, and as a pilot in which NIKA researched the methodology of cultural integration. This resulted in a manual which is published on this website. This manual can be used by community centres and social care organisations  to set up their own cultural integration project and is available at no charge (so far only available in Dutch).

Until now Drawing her Story has been successfully carried out in Amsterdam Oost-Watergraafsmeer, Amsterdam Osdorp, Bussum, Zaandam, Amstelveen, Den Helder and Hoofddorp. NIKA is currently also researching the possibilities to actively implement the project in other councils.