At a time when 117 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes, UNHCR and EU has launched a mural art project that underscores how their partnership helps displaced families to restart their lives. One of the murals is placed in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Through the project “Echoes of Resilience”, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and the European Union (EU) are partnering with local artists in three cities to honor the strength and resilience of refugees. From Paris and Rome to Copenhagen, a series of street art murals unveiled during the first week of December to celebrate European solidarity with refugees globally.
The artist behind the mural project in Copenhagen is Peter Skensved, 46 years, a Danish street artist and muralist. His mural Resilient Roots is located on Frederikssundsvej, one of the city’s main arteries. The mural pictures a refugee family, a mother and two children, rebuilding their lives, watering a plant in a desert. Twelve yellow stars against blue subtly reference to the EU’s involvement and support for UNHCR’s work. In the foreground, light and renewal take over – a stream of water nurturing a young plant, symbolizing hope and new beginnings.
– Hope must be the fire for humanity, Peter Skensved tells UNRIC. In this field there are a lot of plants to water. Considering how many refugees we have currently we have to do what we can, this is my small contribution to put the spotlight on refugees.
A positive note
Skensved has a long career working in urban- and contemporary public art.He started painting around the age if eleven and with more than three decades of experience in the urban art scene, Peter Skensved is also a co-founder and leading artist at the Institut for Urban Kunst (IfUK) in Copenhagen. He has been painting all over the world, for instance in China and South and North America.
– In the street art community, there is a lot of joy and creativity. We support all our competitors; we educate each other and make it easy to enjoy.
When Peter Skensved got the question of taking part in the project late July this year he did not hesitate to say yes. Skensved had the opportunity to talk to a number of refugees living in Denmark as part of the process and he emphasizes that one of the concerns he had regarding the theme for the mural was that he wanted to take on a positive note and avoid stereotypes.
– The refugees we have today are not the same as the refugees we have tomorrow. They all look different. I wanted to use the concept of a family as a symbol for hope and future, and the growth of the plant in a desert as a symbol of the challenges to deal with.
Create new lines of thoughts
The mural is painted with spray paint on a surface of corrugated iron during three full days
of work. The mural will be unveiled as part of a series of launch events to highlight the mural project in early December. It will carry the logos of the UNHCR and EU as well as a QR-code with more information on the project. Being placed in one of the main streets that lead into Copenhagen where a lot of people pass and walk around Peter Skensved hopes the mural will be well received.
– I hope that people will stop for just a split second and create a new line of thoughts. And I hope this mural can create an input to wherever the direction of those thoughts are going. Everyone can make their own stories.
Making art political is nothing Peter Skensved is afraid of. Borders are political, everything is a part of the political landscape, he says.
– It is political to make people look up from their phones for a moment and look at the sky! Anything that brings us together, because that is what we need in the first place. There would be less refugees if we were more open instead of safeguarding our own little spot.
One in 70 displaced globally
At the end of June 2025, 117.3 million individuals worldwide remained forcibly displaced as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order. This equates to 1 in every 70 people on Earth. Sudan remains the largest displacement situation with 13.4 million refugees, asylum-seekers and Internally displaced people, according to the UNHCR Mid-Year Trends 2025.
– Each mural is a reminder that while walls can divide, they can also tell stories that unite us in solidarity with those in distress, said Jean-Nicolas Beuze, the UN Refugee Agency Representative for the EU Affairs in Brussels. At a time of global upheaval, the EU and UNHCR stand as steadfast partners — working not only to save lives, but to help find dignified solutions for those forced into exile – proof that humanity can prevail.
In addition to Peter Skensved the other parts of the project are Italian artist Alice Pasquini’s Nurturing Hope, located in Rome. In Paris French artist Mahn Kloix has partnered with the centrally located Ecole Renard to transform the school’s roof and walls into a mural titled The Extra Mile. Read more about the project here.