Disrupting knowledge in the arts: encountering the colonial other through performance

‘We are not the Others’ is an artful representation of women’s migration stories woven together through a series of spoken vignettes, developed from social work research. This way of seeing lived experience is useful as it enhances knowledge that may not be ascertained in the social work encounter. These learnings provide feedback on services and the hazards of Canada. The article begins with a discussion of the colonial other in relation to migration. Analysis is centred on the questions: how does the performance of the colonial ‘other’ invoke the desire to contest women immigrants’ belonging? How does the display of migration and racialisation grant silent permission to demarcate who belongs? This article takes up how this knowledge is seen and challenged by viewers, which provides insight for social workers into how the terrain of belonging is mediated by racialisation and gender.