“Oh my God, I'm not alone”: Finding kinship, joy, and community among LGBTQIA+ newcomer youth

LGBTQIA+ newcomer youth navigate complex and intersecting identities of migration status, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and age; their strengths, joy, and resilience remain underexplored in research. Guided by an intersectionality framework, this study examined the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ newcomer youth in Calgary, Canada using arts-based engagement ethnography (ABEE). Forty LGBTQIA+ newcomer youth aged 17-24, residing in Calgary, Canada, participated across four cohorts between May 2024 and August 2025. Participants were given cultural probes which are various art supplies to capture their experiences, followed by participation in a one-on-one interview, and two planned discussion groups with fellow participants. Utilizing ABEE, data analysis was guided by three stages: preanalysis, analysis, and integration. Four prominent themes emerged following data analysis: (1) chosen family and queer kinship; (2) maintaining ties to home and cultural heritage; (3) queer joy; and (4) a strengthened sense of identity. The findings offer a vital intervention in the extant literature by providing further insight into the experiences of LGBTQIA+ newcomer youth and challenge the often deficit narratives associated with this community.