Participating artists: Miki Nishida Goerdt, Yasmeen Houdaib, Youn Lee, Alexandra Rivera Rivera, Xinhang Xu, Chengjiaoyang (Valentine) Xue

We are a group of artists who have the experience of being international students in American colleges and universities. We left our home countries (Japan, Palestine/Kuwait, Puerto Rico, Korea, and China) to study in the United States. We share a passion for art therapy, and we believe art can bring people together. American universities and colleges seek out international students like us, not only to increase campus awareness of global issues, but also for promotional purposes and revenue generation. Although approximately one million international students are enrolled in American higher education, it is unclear what it means to truly welcome and support them once they arrive here.

According to published research on their experiences, international students often struggle to navigate the institutional communities they’ve been invited to join, dealing with issues ranging from differences between educational systems to language barriers and cultural differences. Students desire to “belong” within their new host environments, but they also report feeling caught between racial stereotyping and being ignored. Although they are not always seen as an equityseeking group, they experience real structural barriers. One study found that images of international students were used to celebrate diversity, but institutions’ strategic communications rarely addressed these students’ racial identities or their experiences of racism on campus.

We were invited to be in this country, but are we welcome here? With the art in this exhibition, we are exploring what it means to create an inclusive community with you. How do we include and support everyone? How do we cultivate a sense of belonging for all of us?