Refugees in Wichita hope their art helps you understand them

The Shiftspace gallery’s walls are lined with paper drawings, embroidered cloth and paintings, all part of #WelcomeHome, a new exhibit featuring artwork by refugees resettled in Wichita.

The exhibit is a collaboration among Shiftspace, the International Rescue Committee and Episcopal Migration Ministries. The exhibit is in honor of World Refugee Day, which took place on Thursday, with carnival-like celebrations highlighting the exhibition centered around the idea of home.

“I hope it humanizes the plight of refugees,” said Loren Belew, external relations coordinator of the committee.

An artist

Pauline Mordim, 60, sat quietly inside the exhibition, her aging hands clasped in the lap of her long black and white polka dot dress. Next to her was Ann Hawley, a volunteer with the rescue committee.

“She said that there is a war in her country and men were being killed, so they took her and then they brought her here,” Hawley said, translating Mordim’s words.

Mordim came to Wichita from the Central African Republic. During the country’s ongoing civil war, Mordim saw people dying. She fled on foot to Chad with others. They were too afraid to use transportation, Mordim said.

Mordim stayed in Chad for four years before she was able to come to the United States. Her four daughters are still in Africa. Of her three sons, two died and one is with her here.

Every day, she goes to the committee’s office to take English classes. Her son has just started working, making $9 an hour, so money is tight. She has asked to work; however, not many people are willing to hire a 60-year-old, Mordim said.

Mordim walked over to a yellow canvas with a green pot painted on it. Her piece, called “The Canary,” is of a pot. In the Central African Republic, she would go to a pump to get water and fill a pot for drinking water. The water was so cold that it could even be used to keep food cold.

“She is really happy that all of this artwork is showing, that people are coming, that World Refugee Day is really important,” Hawley said, translating again.

Coming to the U.S.

Christian Mucumersha came to Wichita from the Congo after spending five years in a refugee camp in Zimbabwe.

“It’s kind of boring, but I like it,” Mucumersha said of Wichita.

Before he came to the United States, Mucumersha always had great expectations about the land of opportunity. However, it wasn’t what he had hoped.

When he first got to the United States, things were difficult. Getting accustomed to a new country was hard. Now that things have settled, Mucumersha talked about the importance of awareness about refugees.

“We have to remind the world what is happening in this world,” Mucumersha said.

That is the goal of the exhibit, according to Michele Green, executive director of the Kansas International Rescue Committee.

“We wanted them to create items that meant home to them, past or present,” Green said.

Last year, the Kansas International Rescue Committee was scheduled to resettle 400 refugees. That number has decreased to 175 due to the current political climate.

Processing refugees overseas takes almost two years. However, due to holds that have now been placed, many of those applicants’ security checks have expired, causing refugees to undergo the process again.

It’s important for the refugees to know that people care, said Lisa Rundstrom, gallery director of WSU Shiftspace.

“Seeing the refugees coming out and being here, seeing their artwork on the wall, seeing the kids’ artwork on the wall – it’s huge,” Rundstrom said. “It’s huge for them to know that people care.”

The exhibit will be open from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday as part of the Final Friday art crawl. WSU Shiftspace gallery is at 416 S. Commerce.

This story was originally published June 25, 2017 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Refugees in Wichita hope their art helps you understand them."