Background: Forming part of an international Horizon 2020 research study called ‘Acting on the Margins: Arts as Social Sculpture’ (AMASS), Suitable Citizens is an arts-based project in Malta with two central goals: to study migrants’ understanding of identity, citizenship and belonging through their involvement in co-creative arts workshops, and to examine the impact of collaborative artistic processes on people’s perceptions about the integration of foreign residents in Malta. Co-creation has been shown to benefit citizens’ direct involvement in public services and can contribute to learning, policy making and a more direct engagement with societal issues (Voorberg, Bekkers, Timeus, Tonurist, & Tummers, 2017). Participatory arts projects that utilise various media with migrants help to develop a stronger visibility and sense of cultural citizenship in place of marginalisation and stigmatisation (O’Neill, 2018). Supported by a local NGO specialising in work with asylum seekers, Suitable Citizens similarly offered co-creative workshops combining photography, screen printing and fashion design to a group of migrants from mixed backgrounds, creating artefacts that could then be disseminated amongst a wider audience. Methodology, methods: Data collection tools developed by the University of Malta AMASS team members (M. Raykov, R. Vella 2020) include pre- and post-assessment surveys, focus groups, interviews, journals and PhotoVoice complemented by arts-based research. The study is makes use of the advantages of mixed methods approach based on a critical and dialogical integration of qualitative and quantitative data (Taylor & Raykov, 2020). The workshop’s integration of fashion in participants’ creative work intended to highlight the possibility of a democratic alternative to more labour-intensive garment supply chains employing (and exploiting) migrants in different parts of Europe (Delice, 2019). Research questions: How can collaborative art workshops bring people from different backgrounds together in a community building process that simultaneously advocates for social justice, empowerment and civic engagement? Expected outcomes: This presentation will discuss co-creative and pedagogical processes utilised during workshops conducted with the support of artists specialising in photography, screen printing and fashion design. It will expand on the development of skills, including critical skills, as well as notions of citizenship and identity emerging from class discussions, artefacts produced by migrants and the participatory processes employed. Finally, an analysis of data collected at different stages through specific tools developed for this project will serve to understand the possibilities of inclusion in Maltese society and the effects of socially engaged arts workshops on migrants.

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