Nyakien Buong
My name is Nyakier. I am a project lead and exhibition organizer focused on exhibition-making around themes of war, migration, and displacement. I'm a South Sudanese refugee. My family resettled in Canada in 2004. I grew up in Alberta and studied Biological Anthropology at the University of Calgary. Alongside my creative practice, I work full-time as an internal fashion model while developing socially engaged art projects that connect anthropology, lived experience, and contemporary artistic practice.
Ethnographies of War: Stories of the Displaced
Ethnographies of War: Stories of the Displaced is a public art exhibition featuring Canadian artists whose practices are shaped by war and forced migration, interpreting each piece as an ethnography that documents experiences of displacement, resilience, and intergenerational impacts of conflict.
https://www.ethnographiesofwar.comAbout this Project
Communities Served
My project will involve and/or impact the following communities:
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
When it comes to community impact projects, the UN has created 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These are the Sustainable Development Goals associated with my project.
How the project works
Ethnographies of War: Stories of the Displaced is a curated exhibition presenting artworks by Canadian artists whose practices are shaped by war, migration, and displacement. I will coordinate artists and organize a free publicly accessible exhibition that centres community engagement.
Project Impact
The exhibition amplifies immigrant and refugee perspectives, encourages dialogue across communities, and challenges simplified narratives of conflict
Project Mission
The project seeks to foster empathy, cultural understanding, and dialogue by making these stories publicly accessible, while creating space for immigrant and refugee communities to see their histories, resilience, and identities reflected in the Canadian arts landscape.
Project Team
The project is led by me, Nyakier, as project lead and exhibition organizer. I am responsible for artist coordination, exhibition planning, public engagement, and overall project management. I am supported by Stacy Misati, a Master of Public Health student at the University of Toronto. Stacy supports practical considerations such as safe space design, accessibility planning, and crowd management to ensure the exhibition is inclusive, safe, and well-organized.
- Nyakier Buong, Stacy Misati
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