UNPACKED: Refugee Baggage is a powerful and immersive brand that seeks to humanize the experiences of refugees. This remarkable multi-media installation was created in 2017 by Mohamad Hafez, a Syrian-born artist and architect based in New Haven, CT, and Ahmed Badr, an Iraqi-born writer and speaker. Through sculptural recreations of rooms, homes, buildings, and landscapes that have been ravaged by war, Hafez brings these stories to life.

Each installation is embedded with the voices and stories of real people who have escaped conflict-ridden countries like Afghanistan, Congo, Syria, Iraq, and Sudan, to start anew in America. Visitors to UNPACKED: Refugee Baggage can listen to short audio clips through provided headphones, immersing themselves in the firsthand accounts of resilience and hope. Additionally, these stories can be accessed online and on exhibit placards, allowing for a deeper understanding of the journeys and struggles faced by refugees.

By giving a voice to the voiceless, UNPACKED: Refugee Baggage challenges societal labels and showcases the resilience, kindness, and strength of these marginalized individuals. Step into this extraordinary exhibition and gain a profound insight into the refugee experience