2026
Distance Between: Stories of Refuge, Return, and Remembering is a multidisciplinary curriculum and performance project that brings refugee narratives into classrooms through the voices of first-, second-, and third-generation artists. Commissioned performances will be paired with standards-aligned lesson plans, a professional development workshop, and school assemblies to connect educators and students with stories of displacement, resilience, and belonging. In partnership with APICC, SFAC, and TACT, REALSOUL will prioritize immigrant-majority schools to ensure refugee voices are honored, preserved, and taught with care. Lessons will be scaffolded to accommodate all multilingual learners (emerging to advanced).
Distance Between: Stories of Refuge, Return, and Remembering
Our Partners
Meet the Artists
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Berkay Onurer
ARTIST
Berkay Onurer Akkaya is a musician, songwriter, and video artist from Turkey, currently based in the Bay Area. He writes and performs original songs in both Turkish and English, blending them with Middle Eastern melodies to create a unique sound that bridges cultures. Alongside his music, Berkay works in video production, crafting cinematic stories for diverse projects. His work is rooted in a passion for storytelling, emotion, and connection. Through his performances, Berkay aims to inspire audiences, evoke empathy, and spark meaningful reflection across cultural and linguistic boundaries.
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Laila Lupita
ARTIST
Laila Espinoza grew up in the border town of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Her experiences of loss and displacement created the necessity to look elsewhere for something that made sense. That “elsewhere” is what Laila calls the internal landscape, a place where we can transform life’s obstacles into personal growth. Laila’s creative practice includes painting, photography, costume making, performance and altars. She holds a BFA in Community Arts from the California College of the Arts and a Master of Arts in Performance Studies from UC Berkeley where she is currently a PhD Candidate in the Theater, Dance and Performance Studies.
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Pallavi Sarup
ARTIST
Pallavi is the founder and artist behind Hamesha Project. Hamesha Project’s mission is to uplift South Asian craft and illustrate how textiles tie us altogether. All through our craft kits and experiences. Meanwhile Pallavi’s textile art practice blends South Asian ancestral techniques, natural dye, and foraging. Leaning on ancestral techniques of her family, incorporating her queer identity, and deriving color from the Bay Area land she lives on has allowed her to create an artistic body of work that holistically represents her queer South Asian American identity.
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Johnny Nguyen
ARTIST
Johnny Huy Nguyễn is a Vietnamese multidisciplinary dance artist and son of refugees based in unceded Ramaytush - Ohlone territory. He weaves together movement, theater, multimedia, spoken word, ritual, and installation to create body-based works characterized by sweeping physicality and dramaturgical depth. Recognizing vulnerability as strength, he deals with themes of masculinity, spirituality, lineage, and inheritance through a healing lens while interrogating the social, political, and cultural forces that shape us. His work has been presented by API Cultural Center, 500 Capp St, and Asian Art Museum. His dance films have shown nationally and internationally including Canada and Turkey.
Project Team
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Dr. Monisha Bajaj
MIGRATION STUDIES CONSULTANT
Dr. Monisha Bajaj is Professor and Chair of International and Multicultural Education at the University of San Francisco. She has authored eight books and numerous articles on issues of peace, human rights, migration, and education, and is the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Human Rights Education. Dr. Bajaj has developed curriculum and teacher training materials for organizations such as UNICEF and UNESCO, and her first children’s book, “A Year of Kites,” will be published in 2026. She is also the recipient of the Ella Baker/Septima Clark Human Rights Award (2015) from Division B of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). Learn more about her work at: www.monishabajaj.net.
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Jennifer Nguyen
CURRICULUM DEVELOPER
Jennifer Nguyen (she/her) is a second-generation Vietnamese American, born and raised in the Bay Area on Ohlone land. With over a decade of experience teaching elementary school in New York City, Jennifer is deeply committed to connecting students with local community history. She is passionate about Asian American history and community building. Currently, she serves as a program coordinator for AANAPISI and AANHPI SAP grants, where she collaborates with her team to integrate Asian American studies into course curricula and create opportunities for students to engage with local histories. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys reading comics, spending time in nature, and collecting Smiskis.
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![A smiling woman with black hair, wearing a white t-shirt, sitting at a table with a laptop, holding a thermometer to her face. There are potted plants on the table and a colorful, illustrated comic-style mural on the wall behind her.]()
Katie Quan
PROJECT MANAGER & CURRICULUM DEVELOPER
Katie Quan (she/her) is a third-generation Chinese American comic artist, community advocate, and educator from San Francisco. Her work, addressing identity, mental health, and family, has been exhibited with Kearny Street Workshop, A PLACE OF HER OWN, and the Asian American Women Artists Association. She was selected as a Youth Speaks and California Arts Council’s Individual Artist Fellow and AAPI Creative Catalyst Fellow. She founded REALSOUL, a curriculum-based arts organization, striving to make intersectional local histories accessible and relevant to K-8. In her free time, you can find her sleeping, bouldering, or swatting gnats from her indoor plants.
For Educators
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Distance Between: Stories of Refuge, Return, and Remembering is a multidisciplinary curriculum and performance project that brings refugee narratives into classrooms through the voices of first-, second-, and third-generation artists. Commissioned performances will be paired with standards-aligned lesson plans, a professional development workshop, and school assemblies to connect educators and students with stories of displacement, resilience, and belonging. In partnership with Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, San Francisco Arts Commision, and The Association of Chinese Teachers, REALSOUL will prioritize immigrant-majority schools to ensure refugee voices are honored, preserved, and taught with care. Lessons will be scaffolded to accommodate all multilingual learners (emerging to advanced).
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Professional development with breakfast for a total of 3 hours in Fall 2026, Prop G hours available.
We will prioritize 4 Newcomer Pathway middle schools: Everett, Francisco, VisValley. The last school will be announced shortly. Artists will perform in spring 2027 for a total of 60min.
Schools (not included in listed Newcomer pathway schools) interested in participating in the Distance Between program can attend in-person performances, but need to make their own transportation arrangements.
8 free interdisciplinary middle school lesson guides include ML materials and California state standards alignment. Lessons are adaptable for high school level.
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As a participating teacher, you will be required to do the following:
10 min: Online Teacher Interest survey (self-paced) (Deadline: Spring-Fall 2026)
3 hr: Attend TACT TTT Professional Development (in-person), Prop G hours in Fall 2026, tentative date: October 17, 2026.
Dr. Monisha Bajaj, USF Professor of Migration Studies, on how to introduce topics of refugees/migrants in your classroom
Meet the artists and get a taste of what they will provide
Introduction on how to use the REALSOUL lesson guides
20 min What is a Refugee? Activity: This brief introductory lesson will lay out the foundation for understanding who are refugees, why they leave, and how they differ from immigrants.
Total 90 min 2 Art lessons (45min each): Choose and implement 45min of 2 REALSOUL Art lessons prior to Performance Day (self-paced, winter-spring 2026). You may work with another teacher (for example: one ELA teacher and one World History teacher). Suggestions provided for Multilingual Learners and General Ed students. No prior art skills required.
60 min: Attend Free Teaching Artists Performance Day at School Sites (Spring 2027)
Artists’ family stories come from Vietnam, Mexico, Turkey, and India.
Artist specializes in the following medium: Dance, performance art, songwriting/music, and fiber art.
Total 90 min 2 ELAlessons (45min each): We encourage you to select the same 2 artists for 45min each and carry out the ELA lessons to give more context. These lessons include ML materials, self-paced, Winter-Spring 2026-2027. Suggestions provided for Multilingual Learners and General Ed students.
20min Compare & Contrast Activity: After students have been introduced to two artists, this activity prompts them to think about their similarities, the differences between refugees may change between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generations, and how they can be a positive force for these groups.
15-20 min: Exit online survey from teachers and students (teacher survey will ask for student work with no names; survey answers can also be audio recordings) (self-paced)
Provided visual materials may be used for marketing purposes from REALSOUL and partnering organizations (SFAC, APICC, and TACT).
The estimated time involved is 8-9 hours in total for School Year 26-27.
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Ideally, we would like at least 2 different grade levels to attend the presentation/ assembly (at least 60 students, no maximum). Two assigned artists will come to your school for a 60 minute presentation. Each will have 20-25 minutes to present, lead a short activity, and a brief Q&A.
We envision this to take place in a large, open indoor space where 60+ students can form a half circle. Please be prepared that students may be asked to stand up and participate in a brief movement-based activity. Artists will need a microphone, speakers with connection to audio (mp3), and projector screen.
Grant funding guarantees FREE performances at 4 school sites. We will prioritize Newcomer Pathway middle schools: Everett, Francisco, and VisValley. The final school to be announced. Interested teachers should complete this brief Interest Survey as soon as possible.
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This program is offered for free and fully grant-funded.
Due to funding, this program is one year, but the online resources will be available for free to educators afterwards. We hope to continue the same model for other topics in the future.
For artist performances you see, note that they will all be pre-recorded and be made available for viewing before and after our professional development session.
If you enjoy these lesson guides and would like to continue, we recommend anchoring these lessons to
April: Black April (Johnny)
Month of June: World Refugee Day
November 1-2: Day of the Dead Altars (Laila)
Dec 18: International Migrants Day
FAQ for Educators
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Does REALSOUL offer financial compensation or stipends for participating teachers and schools?
We appreciate everyone's time and passion for bringing this work into the classroom. While individual teacher stipends are not something we're able to offer right now, we've designed this program to give back in every way we can.
As a thank you, we provide each of our four participating schools with a facility use payment, cover all costs for the artist performance, and offer free curriculum that teachers can use immediately and share with anyone. Everything else is on us.
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How much class time does this require, and does it align with what I'm already teaching?
In total, this will require approximately 3~4 hours of class time. This includes a brief introductory lesson (15-20min), ELA (~90min), Art (~90min), Compare & Contrast exit lesson (15~20min), and the performance assembly (~60min).
We know every teacher is working with different standards, timelines, and student needs. That's why we've designed this curriculum to be flexible. Our hope is that the topic is not something you need to “squeeze in” but rather, something you can add to something you’re alreayd teaching. That said, during our TTT in Fall 2026, if you need support on where to place this in your school year, we are happy to assist!
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Is this program specifically for refugee students, or is it open to everyone?
This program is open to everybody! Our lessons may focus on refugee narratives, but really, it introduces students of all backgrounds to lived experiences that are happening around the world. In addition to our lessons, we have suggested materials for ML students who would like to make the topic more accessible.
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Can I count this toward my ELA, Social Studies, and/or Arts requirements?
Yes. Every lesson includes a full standards alignment across ELA and Arts, so the work of connecting it to your curriculum is already done for you.
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If my students respond strongly, either emotionally or creatively, to the performance, is there any follow-up support or additional resources available?
Each lesson uses our A-R-T framework, with the last step of “Transform and Act” really encouraging and empowering students to create, connect, and share the lessons they’ve learned!
This may look like hosting an art gallery in the hallways, writing letters to Congress, fundraising for migrant organizations, speaking at assemblies, and more!
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If I have additional questions, who do I reach out to?
REALSOUL is the primary organization managing this project. Please use our Contact Us page for any questions or feedback. Thank you!