On Monday, September 15th as part of the 2025 Immigrant Integration Convening, Fordham Theatre Professor Fadi Skeiker led a panel discussion on a recent project: an art installation that grew out of a storytelling workshop with a group of immigrant women in the Bronx. The installation, on display at the Convening, showcases seven video-narratives written and performed by the women from the workshop. The week-long August workshop became a space where the participants explored themes of resilience and creativity.

Convening attendees view video narratives from the storytelling installation.

The panel featured Dr. Skeiker and Dr. Carey Kasten in conversation with five of the women who participated in the workshop. The women are members of Grupo de Mujeres Latinas, a women’s group housed at the Belmont Catholic Community and run by Dr. Trena Yonkers-Talz that focuses on accompanying immigrant women in their journey for self-determination.

Under Dr. Yonkers-Talz’s leadership, Grupo de Mujeres has grown beyond a program into a community built on accompaniment and mutual support. Women from different backgrounds come together here to navigate the demands of work and motherhood as immigrant women. For many, this is a vital space where their stories are truly heard and understood by a supportive community. As Mónica, one of the participants, said in the panel: “Grupo de Mujeres gives us a safe space.” Another woman, Amanda, shared that “stepping into the Grupo de Mujeres space, I felt as though I was arriving at my grandmother’s.” For many of these women, being welcomed into a space with love and humility is a rare experience that the group makes a point to prioritize.

Rather than focusing on their migration stories as ones of loss, the women and facilitators emphasized the power of community in restoring faith amid moments of hardship. Using storytelling exercises and theater-informed conversation techniques, participants found ways to share their experiences. “It was so gratifying. I’m really happy to be sharing with these women. I feel I can speak openly about who I am, what I do, and that it can help teach others,” one participant, Sandra, said about her experience in the workshop. The panel showed that integration and justice begin with relationships and in our immediate communities.

Watch the panel from the Convening here, and read more about Dr. Skeiker’s work and the Belmont community in Fordham Now’s feature on drama as therapy.