By The Illinois Holocaust Museum
“Where the Children Sleep” is a provocative multimedia exhibit featuring powerful photos and film of Syrian refugee children in Europe and the Middle East by award-winning Swedish photojournalist Magnus Wennman.
“Where the Children Sleep” serves as a wake-up call, not only documenting a contemporary human rights crisis but also inviting visitors to take a stand for children’s rights
The exhibition has its Chicago-area debut at the Illinois Holocaust Museum, 9603 Woods Drive in Skokie, opening on March 15 and continuing to September 16.
Using the powerful photography of sleeping Syrian children in Lebanon, Hungary and other countries in Europe and the Middle East, “Where the Children Sleep” invites its viewers to learn about the conditions faced by these children, forced from their homes, as they await an uncertain future.
The exhibition is comprised of the photography of Wennman, accompanied by biographical text that turns them from statistics into people. Bringing the story to life, the exhibition also includes a short film that profiles one of the refugee children.
The exhibition coincides with the 7th anniversary of the conflict in Syria, which has claimed more than 480,000 lives, left over half the country’s pre-war population, 13.1 million people, in need of humanitarian assistance and forced over five million refugees to flee the country. Half of those uprooted are children.
Wennman’s photos, many of which have been published in media around the world, offer a rare and personal glimpse into the living conditions of the most vulnerable within the refugee population – children.
Wennman, 38, has been working as a photojournalist since the age of 17, when he started his career with a local Swedish newspaper, DalaDemokraten. Since 2001, he has worked as a staff photographer on Scandinavia’s biggest daily paper, Aftonbladet. Wennman concentrates mainly on news and feature stories and has worked in more than 60 countries around the world. He has won prestigious photo awards, both in Sweden and internationally, including four World Press Photo awards, 16 Picture of the Year international awards, 11 NPPAs Best of Journalism awards, and 47 Swedish Picture of the Year awards. He has been awarded “Photojournalist of the year” in Sweden four times.
“Where the Children Sleep” is produced by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in collaboration with Fotografiska -The Swedish Museum of Photography, in order to raise awareness about the plight of Syrian refugees. The Museum’s Women’s Leadership Committee is a contributing sponsor, and the Golder Family Foundation is lead sponsor for all Museum special exhibitions.
–
Comments welcome.
Posted on February 26, 2018