Sanctuary/Sustenance
The Story of Many Journeys
About the Project
Sanctuary/Sustenance: The Story of Many Journeys is a multimedia projection of photography, film, music, and words launched on June 20, 2013 in honor of World Refugee Day in cities around the world. The installation was projected on the facades of community and civic centers, houses of worship, places of learning and other locales that have historically opened their doors as places of welcome and shelter. Collaborators include Lynsey Addario, Marcus Bleasdale, Paula Bronstein, Hélène Caux, Jean Chung, Don Doll, Ron Haviv, David Hogsholt, Giulio di Sturco, and James Whitlow Delano along with filmmaker Maren Wickwire. Sanctuary/Sustenance features music by the Argentine classical composer Osvaldo Noé Golijov. Additional music is by Lee Maddeford, Jonathan Wiest, and Ventanas.
Beginning in 2015, in American and European cities, ART WORKS Projects began a second phase of the initiative with photographers Muna Malik, Khadija Charif, Julia Rendleman, Misael Virgen, Maren Wickwire and others, creating new bodies of work with local resettlement partners. Designed to spark community engagement, they allow the Sanctuary/Sustenance project to reflect specific issues of local importance to refugees and their allies.
Through photographs, moving graphics, and music, viewers have an opportunity to trace the journey of a family during the catastrophic events of displacement, on a path to sanctuary, and through the long process of rebuilding life in a new community. Sanctuary/Sustenance aims to raise the public consciousness of these issues to a wide variety of people, and facilitate conversations about our collective responsibility to welcome refugees and encourage policy makers to act in favor of fundamental human rights for refugees and asylum seekers. The war in Ukraine and recent conflicts in Sudan, Syria and the DRC cause more people to become refugees, it is necessary to bring awareness to the journey and challenges that these individuals and families face.
about the artist
On June 20th, 2013, World Refugee Day. The Sanctuary/Sustenance exhibit was projected on the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.
Sanctuary/Sustenance projection in New York City
Exhibit Projection
In 2015, AWP commissioned a series of visual stories exhibited in cities across the U.S. in order to take a closer look at families navigating resettlement, including following a refugee family’s first 30 days in Seattle after spending many years in a camp in Nepal. We asked photographer Erika Schultz to check in with the Biswa family to see how they continue to adjust to life in the U.S.
digital exhibition
Exhibited in 23 Cities
Chicago, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Minneapolis, Minnesota
San Diego, California
Seattle, Washington
Cologne, Germany
New York City, New York
Rome, Italy
Beirut, Lebanon
Budapest, Hungary
Sofia, Bulgaria
Prague, Czech Republic
Bucharest, Romania
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Warsaw, Poland
Poznań, Poland
Milan, Italy
Paris, France
Malmö, Sweden
Brussels, Belgium
Zagreb, Croatia
New Orleans, Louisiana
Public Programs
All of our exhibitions are designed to tour and can be adapted to a broad spectrum of venue types and sizes.
We are happy to provide step-by-step support for hosting this exhibit.
Contact us to learn more about bringing this exhibit to your community.
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New York installation of Congo/Women
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News
October 2022: Venezuelan refugees seeking asylum in the United States are being turned away and sent to Mexico.
Stats
Turkey currently hosts 3.8 million refugees and Colombia hosts 1.8 million refugees
US Refugee Law and Policy
Sanctuary/Sustenance is produced in partnership with UNHCR, The Frankel Family Foundation, a Manifest Media
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