The world we live in today can seem fractured and disjointed. There is a rise of otherism. The Cambridge Dictionary defines othering as, “…to make a person or group of people seem different, or to consider them to be different.” It is the home of Us versus Them, of greater than and less than, of human and dehumanized. It is where we create divisions based on race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, and geography.
How do we move away from othering? One approach is to foster belonging and community. We all have an innate desire to belong, to feel a part of the whole, to be accepted by our community for who we are without changing ourselves to be like others. To be our authentic selves.
In the spring of 2024, I curated an art exhibit at the Night of Artists Gallery in Edmonton, Alberta, that included fibre artists from across Canada. The theme was “Community and Belonging,” and asked questions like, what does your ideal community look like? Who is part of it? Who is outside it? Who should be part of it? How do we reduce othering and increase belonging in our societies?
Each of the artists created thoughtful work that considered questions about how we define the communities that each of us is a part of. Their artwork suggested places where we can look for belonging and inclusion in our own lives and the impact that we can have when we are supportive of others. To accompany their work, each artist wrote a short statement that shared their perspective on the topic of this exhibit and how their communities have made a difference in each of their lives.
The artwork in the exhibit was aligned with four subthemes, each of which reflected different aspects of what it means to belong and be part of a community.
All images by Elana Goodfellow.
