Refugee Youth Art Contest Gallery

In celebration of Welcoming Week 2024, MO-ORA held our first-ever refugee youth art contest in partnership with two local resettlement agencies in Missouri, Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri and the International Institute of St. Louis.

You can check out all the contest submissions below! Along with each piece you can find the artist’s name, age, country of origin, current city of residence, and a brief statement if available.

To learn more about the contest, read our blog post!

  • Yason, 17, El Salvador

    Columbia, Missouri

  • Yason, 17, El Salvador

    Columbia, Missouri

  • Yason, 17, El Salvador

    Columbia, Missouri

  • Valeria, 16, El Salvador

    Columbia, Missouri

  • Valeria, 16, El Salvador

    Columbia, Missouri

  • Valeria, 16, El Salvador

    Columbia, Missouri

  • Sayra, 18, El Salvador

    Columbia, Missouri
    (2nd Place)

  • Sayra, 18, El Salvador

    Columbia, Missouri

  • Sayra, 18, El Salvador

    Columbia, Missouri

  • Kiba, 16, Afghanistan

    Columbia, Missouri

  • Iyman Eltoum, 22, Sudan

    St. Louis, Missouri

    These are two drawings welcoming newcomers to St. Louis.

  • Iyman Eltoum, 22, Sudan

    St. Louis, Missouri

    These are two drawings welcoming newcomers to St. Louis.

  • Sahar Hussaini, 21, Afghanistan

    St. Louis, Missouri
    (1st Place)

    Suspended between worlds, migrants exist in a liminal space, neither fully belonging nor fully accepted. It feels to be in the air, hovering between two decisions, between leaving and staying, attachment and letting go, blackness and whiteness, forgetting and remembering. Your heart is always connected to the homeland you left for a new home you near reached.

  • Ana Kabwe, 23, Democratic Republic of the Congo

    St. Louis, Missouri
    (3rd Place)

    My art project draws inspiration from my IOM bag and the journey it symbolizes. The colors black and orange dominate the piece, with black representing the war and fear I left behind and orange capturing the joy of a new beginning. The mix of these colors reflects the complex emotions of starting a new life, where hope is tinged with the remnants of past struggles. To add a personal touch, I incorporated the strings from my IOM bag into the artwork, a reminder of the fragile yet crucial role it played in my journey.