Seeking Sanctuaries exhibition opens in Athens, marking 75 years of refugee protection

Despite the high summer temperatures, more than 130 guests gathered on Wednesday evening at Beehive, Melissa Network's cultural space in Athens, for the opening of Seeking Sanctuaries: Stories of Movement, Acts of Welcome, a joint exhibition by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and Melissa Network, to mark the 75^th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention.

The evening opened with a guided tour of the exhibition led by UNHCR and the photographer Enri Canaj, who accompanied visitors through a visual journey spanning 75 years of displacement, protection and solidarity. By bringing together historic photographs from UNHCR's archives with images from Canaj's acclaimed Say Goodbye Before You Leave collection, the tour invited guests to reflect on the continuity of refugee experiences across generations and continents and on the enduring significance of sanctuary, welcome and human connection.

The programme also featured an outstanding performance by vocalist Aggeliki Toubanaki and Polyphony Melissa, whose powerful and beautifully harmonised voices filled the Beehive courtyard. Bringing together women from different countries and backgrounds, the choir embodied the event's central message: that diversity creates harmony and differences become strength.

“Voices carry stories, memories and ways of being in the world – they carry multitudes. And every time they encounter other voices, they do not diminish, they unite, they rise, they create something new, something bigger, something stronger, something infinitely more beautiful. They converse with each other like the images of this exhibition converse across time and space, reminding us that sanctuary is more than just a place, it is an act of recognition and care, it is a relationship, something created whenever fear gives way to hospitality, whenever someone chooses to open a door to another human being”, said Nadina Christopoulou, Co-founder and Director of Melissa Network.

Laura Lo Castro, the head of UNHCR, commented: “Tonight we are reminded of something important: the story of refuge is not only a story of people seeking safety. It is also a story of people offering it. And as long as there are individuals, communities and societies willing to welcome, to listen and to stand alongside those fleeing danger, the idea of sanctuary will remain alive.”

The event concluded with a screening of Allies in Exile by Syrian filmmaker Hasan Kattan. The documentary follows two Syrian filmmakers navigating exile through friendship and storytelling. A fitting finale to the evening, the film offered a moving reflection on resilience, belonging and the enduring search for sanctuary.