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Interdisciplinary design studio
led by Sasha Topolnytska
in New York City
Proposal for “Displaced: Design for Inclusive Cities” Competition 2018
Architecture installation design
Museum of the Displaced is a temporary, non-site-specific exhibition pavilion that centers the stories of refugees through their personal belongings—objects once loved, used, and displayed in homes that were later left behind. Installed in public squares, streets, and gathering spaces in cities where refugees have resettled, the pavilions use narrow, intimate walkways to create moments of encounter between visitors and the displaced. Everyday items—rugs, silverware, textiles, photographs, and other cherished objects—become points of exchange for empathy, transforming distant headlines into deeply human stories.
At a time when millions are being forcibly displaced by war, political persecution, climate disasters, and deepening poverty, the project resists the reduction of refugees to statistics or crises. Instead, it foregrounds dignity, memory, and resilience. By reframing “home” not as a fixed address but as a condition rooted in culture and care, Museum of the Displaced demonstrates how identities, traditions, and hopes can be preserved and carried forward—used as tools of resistance and re-education in the face of erasure and xenophobia.
This approach makes visible the human continuity that survives upheaval, bridging gaps between host communities and new arrivals. It invites audiences to see displacement not as an abstract political problem but as a profoundly personal experience, opening pathways for shared understanding and solidarity.