Students walked by the table of woven baskets, knitted scarves and handbags made by local refugees at the charity global art show for refugees Thursday.
The Master of Social Work Student Association invited a community refugee organization, the Utah Refugee Coalition, to sell art and crafts made by refugees in Utah at the College of Social Work at events on both Tuesday and Thursday.
The coalition focuses on helping the refugees, primarily women, receive a sufficient income by creating indigenous crafts they were already making in the refugee camps and selling them where they can meet the fair labor standards, said Felecia Maxfield-Barrett, executive director of the coalition.
The crafts included woven baskets made by the Somali Bantu community and cards and envelopes with art from refugees from South Sudan, Iraq and the Congo. There were also paintings depicting Iraq with shades of pink and orange on canvas, a desert-like landscape with a few trees with titles, such as “Traveled by Foot” and “Searching for Sage Refuge.” Many of the art pieces were $250-$300.
Maxfield-Barrett said the coalition made $900 from the two events this week. The bead necklaces were popular, as well as the knitted handbags and giraffe cards.
Alex Morgan, a second-year graduate student in social work, interned with the coalition and looked for the best ways to market it, such as at farmers markets or community events. He thought inviting the coalition on campus was a good way to serve the community and involve the university.
“They are all incredibly talented artists, and all of them have incredible stories of how they came to the United States,” Maxfield-Barrett said.
One story told at the event was of an Iraqi couple who owned a business in Iraq in which they professionally made clothes. In Utah, they are still able to make crafts with burlap — a sustainable and recyclable material.
Maxfield-Barrett said the refugees are wonderful people, many of whom have a hilarious sense of humor, like the Somali Bantu community.
While helping incomes for refugees, the coalition also works to connect their culture with the community by teaching them English twice a month as they also work on creating crafts and art.
Eva Tukuafu, a first-year graduate student in social work and co-president of the Master of Social Work Student Association, said hearing the stories of the refugees was beautiful and had an impact on her. She said the coalition is a beautiful story that has turned into a fabulous community event.
“This is something we can do, and hey, we can we can throw a party,” Eva said. “This is just one way that you can do something simple that makes a local impact.”