Program Overview
"Home Through Our Eyes” is an art exhibit in partnership with the Atlanta High Museum of Art. Together, we’re showcasing the stories and creativity of refugees and asking one big question: What does home mean? Through painting, drawing, writing, and interactive design, this program gives refugee voices a platform and creates a space for connection. The exhibit celebrates resilience, belonging, and cultural identity, while helping to build trust and visibility for refugee communities everywhere.
Deven Member-Meneh
“The Light Ponder”
“…….”
“The Junk Dresser”
“A Provider at Work”
16 x 20 in
[Refugee Student]
“The Light Ponder”
- A charcoal portrait of a volunteer student, focusing on loose, expressive line work and a free-hand technique.
“…….”
- A full graphite, charcoal, and highlight portrait of a quiet, still lady. Charcoal and graphite emphasize the layers in the drapery and the rest of the portrait, while highlighter shows the reflection of light from above.
“The Junk Dresser”
- A dresser filled with stories, including an ice skating boot, a mink, a feather-like scarf, a mannequin hand, an owl statue, a bird visible in three ways, and the dresser itself. This was the artist's first colored project, with the objective of having fun and making the items appear as dimensional as possible.
“A Provider at Work”
- A charcoal depiction of a man in Eastern Asia working to provide food for his family, focusing on different perspectives of light, shadows, dimensions, and detail.
S.N.A.K.E. 3 piece set
This is a set of three art pieces that depict various figures in black history, but with a creative twist. These three characters are Gabriel Prosser, Memnon, and the Buffalo Shaman respectively. Each character is not only based in history, but they all have connections to the nature of war. The Buffalo Shaman is a Buffalo Soldier with spiritual powers, and Memnon was a significant figure in the Trojan War in the famous Iliad. As for Gabriel Prosser, he's famous for planning a slave rebellion in 1800, but failed due to weather conditions and two slaves ratting him out. Each character represents war in different ways and throughout different eras, representing the struggle that not only black people go through, but humanity itself. Furthermore, there is an esoteric aspect to these pieces, as both Memnon and Garbriel are shown with spirits gathering around them, showcasing the resilience and bravery they all carry within them, even beyond death. Gabriel’s depiction in particular has the souls of dead slaves breaking their chains, representative of the will to fight back. Overall, these three pieces carry a sense of hope and tenacity with them.
The Saints
This piece depicts the five main characters of the well known anime series, Saint Seiya. This series was made in 1986, and it tells the story of modern day warriors harnessing the power of the constellations to fight against evil and protect humanity. Dawning armor known as Cloths, these warriors become strong enough to fight against powerful Greek gods, such as Poseidon and Hades. From left to right, you have Andromeda Shun, Dragon Shiryu, Pegasus Seiya, Phoenix Ikki, and Cygnus Hyoga. This piece is rather significant, as Saint Seiya's main message is to keep moving forward, even when the odds are stacked against you. The Saints constantly fight against impossible odds, but they continue and eventually overcome the daunting obstacles that get in the way. That level of endurance is similar to what real life soldiers have when they're on the frontlines. There's also a sense of rubicon, the point of no return, that stepping up to certain challenges means that you have to commit all the way through. It’s the resilience and willpower that Saint Seiya showcases that reminds me so much of the brave veterans who fought for this country. Overall, I think this piece will not only have people interested, but it speaks to the courage and bravery of the veterans who have fought so hard for this country.
James Williams III
Guidance is Internal (Same Same, But Different Series), 2025
Acrylic, Spirits, Oil Pastel on Heavyweight Cotton Canvas
60 x 24 in
[Donor]
Courtesy of the artist
With Guidance is Internal, I am engaging in a visual meditation on wayfinding, resilience, and movement through unfamiliar space. I was drawn to the metaphor of space travel, not as science fiction but as a parallel to the deeply human experience of navigating uncharted emotion-scapes and physical borders. Like a shuttle launched beyond the atmosphere, this work considers the body as a vessel in motion, one that holds memory, rhythm, and instinct as its navigational tools.
I approach the canvas as both terrain and testimony. The composition is layered, intuitive, and deliberate; echoing the nonlinear ways we chart our paths in the absence of external structure. Here, abstraction becomes a tool for excavating our internal landscapes for evidence of the “otherwise” when we need it most. This work doesn’t offer answers, but rather holds space for the ancestral guidance that emerges when familiarity fades away. In that stillness, Guidance is Internal becomes both mantra and portal.
Home is where the heart is.
Home is not a roof or four walls; it is the steady rhythm of love, the embrace of family, the echo of laughter carried through generations. Even in the face of pain, destruction, and injustice, home endures. It lives in the memories we hold close, in the traditions we protect, in the stories that remind us of who we are.
This work is a reflection of the indestructible spirit of unity. When the world outside feels uncertain, the heart becomes our refuge—a place where culture, hope, and belonging intertwine.
Home is the warmth of a shared meal, the wisdom of elders, the comfort of knowing we are never truly alone. It is where loss transforms into memories, and memories transform into strength. "Home is where the heart is" honors the timeless truth that no matter where we go or what storm we endure, home travels with us. It carries in our love, our traditions, and our hopes for what is yet to come.
Charles Louis Middleton III
Hands of Time - Original Draft
Mediums: acrylic/graphite/charcoal on canvas roll
72 x75 in
[Donor]
The passing of knowledge and wisdom of one’s journey to help build a bridge for the future generation family to open more doors of opportunities.
She carries a wooden plate in hand symbolizes the foundation of family, home and devotion of sacred practices.
As she wears the uniform of a maid who becomes the first leg in the race of time, she prepares to pass off the plate into the next generation to continue and add onto the legacy being created.
Ancestor’s Journey is a collection that brings together image and story in an effort to honor the resilience, sacrifice, and unyielding hope of those who came before us. It is a meditation on migration, memory, and the search for belonging. At its heart, this body of work pays tribute to the ancestors of refugees—men, women, and children who endured loss, displacement, and uncertainty, yet carried with them the determination to begin anew.
The artworks in this collection, with their surreal landscapes, mythological figures, and luminous use of color, serve as visual echoes of the written narrative. They remind us that migration is never a simple departure. It is a journey layered with both grief and possibility. The figures, often depicted amidst cosmic skies, turbulent waters, and radiant fields, embody the tension between what has been left behind and what lies ahead. In these images, we see not only the hardship of exile but also the courage it takes to dream of a different tomorrow.
Each piece is rich with symbolism. Lions, celestial bodies, ancestral figures, and winged beings appear as guardians of memory and carriers of tradition. They stand as reminders that refugees did not travel empty-handed; they carried with them languages, songs, rituals, and stories that would take root in new lands. Just as the text describes memories of laughter, candlelit stories, and voices that linger across time, the images hold within them traces of the past—woven into patterns, gestures, and sacred postures.
Yet the collection is not only about mourning or remembrance. It is equally about rebirth and transformation. Bright golds, fiery reds, and celestial blues infuse the works with vitality, pointing toward renewal. The repetition of circular and cosmic motifs suggests cycles of loss and regeneration, much like the continuous movement of people seeking a place where dignity and peace can flourish. In this way, the images embody the text’s affirmation that “home” is not bound by geography, but created wherever love, safety, and community take root.
Together, words and images create a dialogue across generations. They acknowledge the pain of exile while celebrating the beauty of resilience. They recognize that the search for belonging is not a single event but an ongoing process—one that unfolds in each of us as we honor our roots and continue the work of building a more compassionate future.
Ancestor’s Journey is, ultimately, an invitation. It calls us to reflect on the sacrifices of those whose names may be forgotten, but whose choices shaped our present. It asks us to honor their courage by living with intention, carrying forward the legacies they entrusted to us. And it reminds us that even in the most uncertain of journeys, there is always a thread of hope, a possibility of renewal, and a vision of home waiting to be built.