Located in Chicago’s Greektown neighborhood, the National Hellenic Museum (formerly the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center) unveiled its new exhibition, “Lives Afloat: The Greek Refugee Crisis through the Lens of Tasos Markou 2015–2017.”

Divided into three segments, corresponding to three separate years — Arrivals, Waiting and Borders — Markou’s photographs record the challenges of sea crossings, rigors of daily life in camps and the difficulties endured by those forced from their homes who later fled from escalating violence, persecution and war including the Syrian Civil War.

National Hellenic Museum

On view through spring 2019, public programs, docent-led tours and hosted speakers will supplement the exhibition. The exhibition team behind Lives Afloat used data and reports from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and images captured by Markou, a native of Larisas, Greece, who spent time on the island of Lesvos to document the crisis.

The museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.

–5 p.m.; Thursday from 11 a.m.–8 p.m.; and closed Monday.

The museum’s mission is to “collect, preserve and portray the legacy of Greek history and culture in America,” and is home to an enormous assortment of recorded oral histories and artifacts related to Greek American history.