Iraqi Children's Art Exchange

Reception for Exhibit of Iraqi Refugee Children’s Murals at Albany Public Library Murals painted by Iraqi children and teenagers are currently on exhibit on the second floor of the Albany Public Library through March 27.

The public is invited to a reception at the library for the young artists on Monday, March 23 from 5 to 6 p.m.

In September 2008, young Iraqi refugees recently arrived in the Capital District participated in a one day mural painting workshop with American artist/teacher Claudia Lefko and Iraqi artist Thamir Dawood at the Sanctuary for Independent Media. They created five 36” x 50” murals on canvas depicting their thoughts and feeling about having to leave their beloved home country in a time of war and upheaval. Click here to check out "Don't Forget Us: Iraqi Children," a short video documenting the Sept. 08 mural workshop!

The young Iraqis who painted the murals are part of a community of about 75 Iraqi refugees who have been resettled in the Albany Capital District over the past two years. They come here mostly from Jordan, Syria and Turkey, where they fled to escape the violence of the war in Iraq. There are currently an estimated two million Iraqi refugees living in countries neighboring Iraq in the biggest refugee crisis in recent history.

Do you know a young person who would like to participate? Are you interesting in volunteering to help with this workshop? If so, please download flier, registration form and "getting started" activities form at the bottom of this page.

Contact: Branda Miller 518- 272-2390, Susan Davies 518-392-9477, or 518-441-0229 or Maureen Aumand, maumand@nycap.rr.com

PRESS RELEASE An Iraqi/American Mural project to be held in Troy March 28 and March 29

On Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29 a two day workshop, “How Will They Know Us? Building a Culture of Peace,” will be held at the Sanctuary for Independent Media to bring together a group of local Iraqi and American youth to collaborate on a mural painting project. The workshop will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.

Guided by Claudia Lefko, director of the Iraqi Children’s Art Exchange, Branda Miller, Rensselaer professor of media arts, and mural artists, Linda Iannacone and Lauren Jacobs, the American and Iraqi youth ages 8 to 18 will work together to shed light on the Iraqi refugee experiences and to share visions of a peaceful and just coexistence through artistic expression.

“How Will They Know Us? Building a Culture of Peace”

Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28

Iraqi and American youth shared visions of a peaceful, just coexistence in this mural workshop. Guided by Claudia Lefko, director of the Iraqi Children’s Art Exchange, these murals will be exhibited in Egypt next year for the “UNESCO Decade of Peace and Non-violence Among Children of the World.”

Photo by Tyler Boudreau

“A Conversation About UPSTATE GIRLS”

Thursday, April 2

Teenage girls from throughout the Capital Region shared stories about the challenges in their lives, gathering with representatives of the institutions with which they are entwined—including the legal, educational, healthcare and penal systems—in response to award-winning photojournalist Brenda Ann Kenneally’s compelling work.

Funded in part by Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

The Underground Gallery at The Sanctuary for Independent Media features an exhibition organized by the Iraqi Children's Art Exchange called, "Don’t Forget Us: Iraqi Children 2001 – 2008 (Sanctions, War, Occupation and Exile)” from September 12 through December 14, 2008. The show is open to the public free of charge an hour before, during, and an hour after events and workshops at The Sanctuary for Independent Media.

Click here to see photos of the Iraqi Children's Art

The exhibit is a collection of artwork, created by Iraqi children, especially for this child-to-child art exchange project, and photographs taken in Baghdad and Amman Jordan by ICAE director Claudia Lefko.