In Fall 2018, students in “Advanced Topics in Visual Communication and Graphic Design,” under the instruction of Vadim Besprozvany and Elena Godin, narrated these families’ stories through a set of posters which begin to raise awareness of this issue. Students explored methods of visual storytelling with somber data from The Missing Migrants project, an initiative that tracks the deaths of migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers who have gone missing around the world.

In addition to showcasing student work, the exhibition makes use of sound and touch in the hope of eliciting both cognitive and affective apprehension. We hope that the public, through this glimpse of an unimaginable plight, begins to relate to the yearning of those who simply want to be reunited with their lost loved ones.

The families’ images and narratives are courtesy of our partner, La Terre, a migrant advocacy organization that works to generate awareness and action about the plight and injustices faced by refugees and migrants.