The same day when President Obama travels to Oslo, Norway to accept his Nobel Peace Price. Dec-10th-2009 , Presented by the Peace Mural Foundation, the Artist Huong will unveil 200 ft. long by 8 feet tall mural. Made of 700 Original Paintings devoted to one subject USA Transformation.
Where : Miami Art Palace- 7900 SW 77 Ave. Miami, Fl. 3314 – Direction from I-95 (becomes US-1) go South 5 miles, turn Right at 72nd St. Sunset, go West 2 miles, before Underpass Highway 826 turn left at 77th Ct, follow the road 1 mile to the White Dome Palace on your right. Parking along the road.

When: Dec-10th-11th and 12th of 2009 From 10-5:PM.
Open to the Public- $10 dollars at the door, (Proceeds donated to the Peace Mural Foundation) – Students and Seniors FREE.

Miami : Barack Hussein Obama’s inauguration as 44th President of the United States on January 20, 2009, was remarkable because he is the first African American elected to this office. It was also remarkable because of what it meant beyond our shores. Not just America but the world claimed him as its own.
The Nobel Peace Prize awarded on October 9, 2009, confirmed that election by the world. “Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future.
I was there in Washington, DC, on Inauguration Day, with 1.8 million others. I was side by side with other immigrants, with daughters, sons and the grandchildren of these immigrants. Hearts pounding, we joined frozen hands and smiled past frozen lips, lifted above ourselves into history.

These panels reflect what I saw and felt on that day and what I have been seeing and hearing in the months since. I’ve been listening to America, to Obama, and to the world. I’ve been hearing what children and adults around the US are saying about our President and the era he inaugurated. I’m hearing those who call him a liar, question his citizenship, and fear the changes he wants as well as those who love him. I’ve been hearing what he says in Europe and in Cairo, in town hall meetings, in talks with schoolchildren and speeches to Congress.
And I’m hearing what people around the world are saying about the shift from
a President who drew lines in the sand to one who says “We can talk about it. “
President Obama’s eloquence is thrilling. But more important than anything he says is his willingness to listen—to people who distrust him or the US, as well as those we consider friends.
Some of his oldest friends call him “Ears.” Those ears are more than a striking physical feature. They may be the world’s best hope for peace. As the Nobel Committee noted, in Obama’s America, “Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts.” So stop for a moment. See what dialogue looks like, and hear the many voices. YES, WE CAN hear each other with respect. It’s the path to peace.

Special credit and thanks to Interns - Guest Artists :
Glenn Ryals, Mang, Linh, Kyle Michalowski, Johab Silva, Ramon Lopez, Andrea Kirkpatrick and Belkys Behr.

WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT OBAMA NOBEL PEACE PRIZE ?

Highlights of the Washington DC Peace Mural Exhibition

We are pleased to share these highlights and memories of the recent Washington DC exhibition held in Georgetown from Nov. 29, 2008 through Jan. 30, 2009. If you have videos or photos to share, please forward them to info@peacemural.org.

Please offer us your feedback on the DC Exhibition by taking a few moments to submit this Survey Evaluation; Thank You!

All Events At the Wash DC Exhibition 11/29/08-1/30/09 (44)



View from the 2nd Floor Atrium: Peacebuilder's Reception, National Peace Foundation, January 10th.
Washington Post Story (12/18/08)

War & Peace, an Epic Mural/Foreign Policy in Focus (12/5/08)

Grand Opening Weekend

Over 300 people participated in the Grand Opening Weekend (Dec. 6-7, 2008). Festivities began on Saturday with a special reception honoring Poets Against the War and its local affiliate, DC Poets Against the War. The reception was highlighted with the unveiling of over 100 poems that were submitted by poets across the country and published to the Peace Mural.
Festivities continued on Sunday as guests gathered with the DC Peace Marching Band in neighboring Francis Scott Key Park. From the park, peacemakers followed the marching band as they worked their way around the block surrounding the gallery, then marching up M Street and into the gallery entrance. Once inside, a program featuring Huong and other speakers welcomed guests and invited them to explore the exhibition, culminating with Huong and representatives of Code Pink facilitating the austere unveiling of the No Torture panels located on the second floor of the exhibition. Throughout the weekend there were a variety of special events including repeat performances of the Mountain of Peace, poetry readings, a Blessing Tree ceremony, and a presentation on the Global Oneness Pledge, and a special performance by the World Children's Choir.

The Wall of Injustice

The Peace Mural is an work in progress. Several new elements were added during the Washington DC Exhibition, including the The Wall of Injustice that divides Israel and Palestine. The collaborative project involved several artists, was overseen by Huong, and was inspired by guest artist Cherie Redlinger. The Wall is a fitting reminder of the current crisis in Gaza and the anguish of war in our midst this very moment. For more background, see: The Making of the Wall of Injustice.

The Mountain of Peace

Among the featured performances at the DC Peace Mural were vignettes from Frances Key’s musical theatre production, The Mountain of Peace. Topics of human rights, war, and peace were presented through songs, videos, and monologues. The performances featured students from Duke Ellington School for the Arts and the International Peace Performers. The production included Flag of Living Stars, a demilitarized version of the U.S. national anthem (Star Spangled Banner) by Francis Scott Key, namesake and ancestor. Frances' work complements Huong's Flag at War series, a component of the Peace Mural that was exhibited in DC. Both artists challenge us to reinterpret the meaning the American Flag in the context of a vision for a world grounded in peace and social justice.


(L) Entrance to the DC Peace Mural seen through the window frontage on M Street in Georgetown.
(R) Theatre of the Oppressed workshop with Hector Aristizibal, actor and human rights activist from Columbia.

About the Peace Mural

Nearly 15 years in the making, Huong’s Peace Mural is the culmination of searing memories that bring history to life and depict the universal pain of war and hope for peace. The complete mural includes nearly 2000 paintings. When fully presented, the mural stands 8' feet tall and 600 feet long. Exhibition of the mural often includes a number of free-standing pieces from Huong's private war/peace collection. The combined presentation captures highly evocative images and concepts depicting multiple themes including: Voices of Children; Voices of the Troops; Mothers in War; The Peace of all Nations; The Flag at War; The Displaced and the Disabled; The Cry of Refugees; and The Tortured.
Far more than simply an exhibition of art, the Peace Mural is highly interactive and participatory as it evokes civic engagement and calls forth from viewers a response through reflection, dialogue and action. Viewers are invited to “sign on” for peace by adding their own thoughts and comments to panels scattered throughout the mural. Exhibitions are typically accompanied with a series of community dialogues, educational events, artistic presentations and public actions. Most of these sidebar events take place on site at the exhibition and are sponsored by a variety of local partner organizations. The 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.


About the Artist HUONG: A young journalist at the time of the Vietnam War, Huong climbed aboard one of the last refugee boats before the fall of Saigon, wearing only one shoe and carrying her infant son in arms. She first settled in Alaska where she swapped her pen for a brush in an effort to”paint out” the passions within her. Eventually she launched an art career that has captured the attention of art audiences and critics internationally. Not unlike Picasso’s own war protest painting Guernica, Huong’s paintings collectively form a body of work addressing the global issues of war and peace. Through hundreds of painted canvases, the Peace Mural is a symbol of Huong’s determination to purge our culture from the ways of war and to advance an emerging culture of peace. Some of Huong's Other Works:
The War Pieces
The Peace Pieces
Let's Think Peace
The Flag at War

About the Peace Mural Foundation: Huong has recently given custody of her Peace Mural to The Peace Mural Foundation, Inc, a non-profit organization established to carryout a mission "to promote civic education and action for peace and justice through the arts." The Washington DC Exhibition was the Foundation's inaugural effort.