Samaritas Celebrated World Refugee Awareness Week
with an Art Show!
On June 20th, Samaritas launched our 2022 Youth Art Show – Colorful Journey (presented by Delta Dental) as part of Lansing’s World Refugee Awareness Week – a collaborative effort between multiple agencies and organizations celebrating the contributions of refugees to the community.
Over the course of the years, this gallery has evolved from a single mural with a single public reception to a virtual gallery and online store viewable by people around the country. This year has brought a combination of all of these galleries – the art show will be in person, online, and will travel around the state to different gallery hosts.
Students, staff, sponsors, and community members gathered together to see the launch of the exhibit at Tabooli Mediterranean in East Lansing. Daniel Avelar, who helps coordinate art projects with the youth in foster care, states that the Art Show has created “a venue for our youth to express their backgrounds, their talents, and artistic skills through art.” Youth enjoy participating in the art show “because it allows them to express different phases of their lives that they’re going through. This includes changes and cycles. The art show has allowed people from all walks of life to express their cultures and ways of being by promoting the very essence of their identities.”
To view the pieces for yourself, visit Samaritas.org/youth-art-show.
The Samaritas Youth Art Shop will offer art lovers and refugees advocates the option of purchasing merchandise like mugs, beach bags, and journals with imprints of the refugee art. Proceeds from these fundraisers will benefit Samaritas Refugee Youth Programs.
Visit the Samaritas Michigan Refugee Network page to make a donation, volunteer or offer other in-kind support to New American Programs.
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