Fourth Annual Refugee Art Exhibition

June 20 2016

The United Nations designated June 20 as World Refugee day in 2001. This is an international day of recognition of the story and journey of refugees, all over the world. Faced with conflict, war and persecution, people flee for their survival – seeking protection and refuge in other countries. Theirs is a story of hardship, fear, survival, resilience and also welcome.

THEMUSEUM partnered  with the Community Coalition on Refugee and Immigrant Concerns (CCORIC) and Immigration Partnership Waterloo Region to host the fourth annual Refugee Art Exhibition during the month of June 2016.

This year’s local theme for World Refugee Day is “Waterloo Region Celebrates Refugees”. People who have been fleeing persecution, war and conflict have found a safe and welcoming home in the Waterloo Region for many years. This June, World Refugee Day will acknowledge and celebrate their journey as well as those organizations that provide welcome and refuge, through a variety of locally run events.

A new component of the Art Exhibition this year is the display of pieces created by children and youth.

Illuminate Arts: Defining Identity Exhibition

Defining Identity seeks to address the unique individualities and perspectives of artistic talents of newcomer Muslim women artists as well as youth within the Kitchener-Waterloo Region. This exhibition seeks to value and cherish the voices of these woman as they share with the community both historical and contemporary issues of their own identity. The artists in Defining Identity explore their unique identities, ideals and viewpoints throughout the artworks that are presented within this exhibition. Building and understanding identity is an ongoing process. Join the artists as they share their personal story and vision behind each piece and journey down the road to defining identity.

Illuminate Arts KW is a project of the Coalition of Muslim Women of KW focusing on drawing attention to the capability and artistic talents of newcomer Muslim women artists, and connecting them to the mainstream arts community and organizations. Illuminate Arts is also helping to create a safe space for young Muslim women while giving them an opportunity to contribute and engage in the larger community.

The Coalition of Muslim Women of KW (CMW) is a group of highly passionate local Muslim women, who believe that by working together, we can create a just and harmonious community where Muslim women are valued and admired for who they are and have the training and opportunities to engage as leaders both in the Muslim and the larger communities.

A big thank you to our funders and supporters as this project would not have been possible without them.

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