We strive to provide a unique and immersive experience for our night market participants through art installations.

 

We are inviting artists and artist teams to apply to design and create an art installation to honor and celebrate the 50 year anniversary of Southeast Asians (SEA) in Minnesota since the Secret War in 1975-- honoring and celebrating the past, present, and/or future legacies, memories, places, and more.

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We welcome any installation ideas such as murals, light poles, sculptures, and more!

 

This celebration offers an opportunity to reflect on the ways that Southeast Asian immigrant and refugee communities have woven their own unique individual threads into the awe-inspiring tapestry of Minnesota’s history. Hmong, Vietnamese, Lao, Karen, Khmer, and Thai populations in Minnesota contribute to the vastly diverse demographic landscape. What makes Southeast Asians unique is our commitment to cultural preservation while surviving the challenges of assimilation. Our strong community ties inspire hope for unity. And our growth and resilience is driven by the desire to honor where we came from. ​

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Healing and joy are at the forefront of our celebration, alongside our recognition and honor for the immense violence, struggles, and institutional inequities that Southeast Asian refugees experienced in the last half century. Often tied to an identity of war and trauma, Southeast Asians carry a heavy burden of honoring their history and balancing that with creating a new legacy of healing and joy, especially as members of the diaspora. We will never forget our history of experiencing genocide and being refugees, and we will let that inspire our efforts to embrace our multidimensional existence. Our celebration of this anniversary shares our hope and growth for a brighter future, while also holding space to grieve our past.