Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary

A collaboration between Swarthmore College Libraries and the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility

Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary is a two-year project that connects the arts to historic and contemporary stories of refuge. Local Syrians and Iraqis work with commissioned artists to make handmade books that explore connections between history and experience, displacement and refuge, empathy and belonging.

Over the past year, resettled Syrians and Iraqis now living in Philadelphia have developed their printing, binding, and other artistic techniques through a series of workshops where they wrote, designed, edited, and published their own books.

In Spring 2019, Swarthmore will host an exhibition of these and other materials emerging from the project, built upon a groundbreaking premise: that artistic, archival, and experiential ways of knowing must be brought together to fully understand our contemporary moment.

Major support for Friends, Peace, and Sanctuary has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, with additional support from Swarthmore’s Cooper Series, Swarthmore College Libraries, the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. We would also like to thank Nationalities Service Center and HIAS Pennsylvania.

Panel Discussion

Date: Thursday, March 28, 4:30 p.m.
Location: Lang Performing Arts Center, Cinema

Exhibition Opening

Guided gallery walk
Date: Friday, March 29, 4:30–6 p.m.
Location: McCabe Library

Communal Dinner with Project Participants

Date: Friday, March 29, 6 p.m.
Location: Clothier Hall, Upper Tarble

All-Day Celebration

Food, art-making, advocacy workshops, and more
Date: Saturday, March 30, noon–6 p.m.
Location: McCabe Library, Science Center 101, Eldridge Commons, Science Center Quad