‘Refugee’ stories come to Amarillo
“UNPACKED: Refugee Baggage” at the Amarillo Museum of Art seeks to humanize the word “refugee.” Created during the summer of 2017, this multi-media installation is the work of Syrian-born, New Haven, Connecticut based artist and architect Mohamad Hafez. The stories are collected and curated by Iraqi-born writer and speaker Ahmed Badr. The exhibition opens on September 6, 2024, with an event at which Hafez will attend, and closes January 5. 2025.
For “UNPACKED: Refugee Baggage” Hafez sculpturally re-creates rooms, homes, buildings and landscapes that have suffered the ravages of war. Each is embedded with the voices and stories of real people — from Afghanistan, Congo, Syria, Iraq and Sudan — who have escaped those same rooms and buildings to build a new life in America. Their stories are collected and curated by Badr, who attends Wesleyan University and is himself an Iraqi refugee. Visitors experience short audio clips through headphones and can continue reading the stories online and on exhibit placards.
“This project bridges my past, present, and my future,” Badr says. “Over the past few years, I’ve been exploring different ways of expressing the refugee experience, and Mohamad’s artwork is special in that it is pure and unassuming; he presents reality as it is, and invites the spectator to simultaneously experience horror, pain, and awe. I am deeply drawn to the storytelling and community aspect of this project, as the pieces we will create will seek to bring people together regardless of their color, class, or religion.”
The collaborative work has been profound for Hafez, who has participated in the interviews alongside Badr, hearing stories from new friends and old.
“The experience has been humbling,” says Hafez. “We have gotten to know so many great people who live under the radar, easily categorized by the public under one big ‘refugee’ umbrella, as though they have no unique stories. It has been revelatory for me to hear Ahmed bring out their beautiful stories. For somebody to trust us with an extremely personal story is an honor, and one that I take so dear to me and cherish. I’ve always believed that artists are the documentaries of their times, and I am starting to feel the real weight of that task, which I plan on taking on for a long time to come. I am being entrusted to give a voice to the voiceless: normal, kind, genuine and impressive people that society labels as marginal and insignificant.”
The Amarillo Museum of Art is located at 2200 South Van Buren on the Washington Street campus of Amarillo College. Museum hours are Wednesday – Saturday, 11 a.m – 5 p.m and Sunday, 1 p.m – 5 p.m. For additional information, visit www.amoa.org, email amoa@actx.edu, or call (806) 371-5050 or (806) 371-5392 (weekends).
