Just around the bench, two blocks walking south from Art Basel, The “ art biography of the Vietnamese-American artist Huong is on exhibit, This cathartic mural  connects the concepts  of war , peace, immigration, refugees, justice , nature and displacement through the eyes of the survivor whose determination to pass the peace forward is purged and painted on canvas. Her Peace Opus is a culmination of 35 years of searing memories that bring history to life, depicts the universal pain of war and calling for Peace. This is a must see event.

Peace Mural on Display at NIIC

The NIIC 2013 crew is thrilled and honored to invite Huong, a Vietnamese-American artist and activist, to share her beautiful, visionary murals at our conference space this year.

If you live in Miami, you may have seen “Immigration – The Wall of Borders,” an eight-foot high, over 200-foot long mural that speaks not only of her own personal story, but the story of all of us as immigrants. Or perhaps you caught one of Huong’s more than 100 solo exhibits throughout Canada or the United States over her 30-year professional career.

“Immigration” is just one part of Huong’s overall Peace Mural, the culmination of 30 years of searing memories that brings history to life and depicts the universal pain of war and hope for peace. See details. As her website notes, the Peace Mural is over 800 feet in length, comprised of nearly 2000 paintings, and represents an ongoing, developing project as new themes continue to be added.

NIIC 2013 is more than simply a conference, where you should expect to attend, sit, and listen. Similarly, Huong’s Peace Mural is more than simply an art exhibit, but a catalyst to action. It evokes participation and civic engagement, calling forth from viewers a response through reflection, dialogue, and action for peace and justice. Viewers are invited to ‘sign on’ for peace by adding their own thoughts and comments to panels scattered throughout the Peace Mural.

Likewise, NIIC 2013 participants will be asked to help us shape the future of immigrant integration in America. On Monday afternoon, we want you outside in the Miami sun for conference-wide strategy circles and action planning. Throughout our gathering, we’ll be asking you to join our campaign to lower the citizenship fees and calling for local and national citizenship initiatives.

For us, like Huong, immigration is both personal and communal – as media coverage of her work has illuminated, including Foreign Policy in Focus and The Miami Herald. The Peace Mural is an expression of ‘people’s art’ as it informs and shapes civil society and stimulates vibrant participatory democracy.

“When we came to this country as refugees we had nothing,” she told Community Newspapers in Miami. “No clothes, no family, no identity, no country, nothing — only the naked truth. We, like all immigrants throughout history, carried with us just flesh and bone as we started over at the absolute bottom of society.”

“This nation 35 years ago, opened it door for me and my son,” she says. “I hope this door will always open to other needed refugees and immigrants from everywhere in the world.”

MASSIVE MURAL ON IMMIGRATION REFORM AT MIAMI DOWNTOWN

HISPANIC PRESS BY GLENDA GALAN

El Mural de Paz de Huong se presentará en el Foro Nacional de Reforma Integral de Inmigración

About the Peace Mural 

Nearly 20 years in the making, Huong’s Peace Mural is the culmination of 30 years of searing memories that brings history to life and depicts the universal pain of war and hope for peace. In its entirety, the Peace Mural is over 800 feet in length and 8 feet tall, comprised of nearly 2000 paintings. The exhibition often includes a number of free-standing pieces from Huong's private war/peace collection.

The Peace Mural is an ongoing, developing project as new themes continue to be added. The presentation captures highly evocative images and concepts depicting multiple themes including: Let's think Peace; Words of Peace Voices of Children; Voices of the Troops; Mothers in War; The Peace of all Nations; The Flag at War; The Displaced and Disabled; The Cry of Refugees; No More Torture; Poets Against War; BP oil spill Bleeding in gult US Alive; Obama Peace Mural; Immigration; Wall of Border Immigration; Racism- The American Color; WMD- Chemical Weapon.

Far more than simply an art exhibit, the Peace Mural is a catalyst to action as

it evokes participation and civic engagement, calling forth from viewers a response through reflection, dialogue and action for peace and justice. Viewers are invited to “sign on” for peace by adding their own thoughts and comments to panels scattered throughout the Peace Mural.

Exhibitions are typically accompanied with a series of community events, dialogues, educational programs, artistic presentations and public actions. Most of these sevents take place on site at the exhibition and are sponsored by a variety of local partner organizations.

The Peace Mural is both deeply spiritual and politically reflective as it calls forth citizen and community response. But most of all, it resonates a challenge and hope for peace in ways that only art can do. It inspires, it disturbs, and evokes personal responsibility. The Peace Mural is an expression of “people’s art” as it informs and shapes civil society and stimulates vibrant participatory democracy.

For further background, seeArtist Huong's personal website

as well as the following video.

• Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpaeTDZcEOs

• Huong’s website: http://huong.org/

Dear Peace makers.

A chorus of voices in our Catholic community worldwide – from Pope Francis to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops to leadership of religious communities and organizations, including our own – has called on Congress to reject the request of the President to attack Syria. We are deeply troubled that President Obama would undercut the legitimate authority of the United Nations.

The Obama administration has created a false choice between military action and inaction. We insist that effective, nonviolent, legal steps remain that must be taken to reduce the horrific violence, protect the Syrian people and hold perpetrators of the chemical attack to account. These do not include U.S. military action in Syria. They do include the following: 

● Turn all U.S. intelligence about the use of chemical weapons in Syria over to the United Nations to help build a clear, legal case against the perpetrators in the proper international court of justice. Effective accountability is rooted in the rule of law and restorative justice.

● Engage the full UN Security Council (UNSC), both permanent and elected members, to act on Syria with the goal of a complete arms embargo, immediate humanitarian access, a ceasefire, a negotiated peace and accountability for violations of international law.

● If effective action by the UNSC is vetoed, engage the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in full debate on the matter. Precedent exists in UNGA Res 377 (1950) that gives the UNGA authority to act following a veto in the UNSC.

● In the meantime, support creation of zones of peace and deployment of nonviolent peacekeepers, including civilians, to accompany Syrian communities overwhelmed by the violence.

A unilateral military attack on Syria by the United States would reveal a stunning failure of moral imagination and courage on the part of the Obama administration and the U.S. Congress. In the event of a positive vote in Congress, the President himself should decide against military action. To choose a yet-viable multilateral, nonviolent response would be a powerful act of global leadership for the 21st century, maintain the dignity and independence of the Presidency and demonstrate a deep commitment to international cooperation.

Pleading for courage and praying for peace, our communities around the world will be with you as you make this crucial decision.

In peace, 

Marie Dennis