Invisible Children Art Exhibit
by Irene Thraen-Borowski
December 19, 2008
Starting in January at the Stockton Public Library, work by the Graphics students will be rotating through our local libraries in a student exhibit. Stop in and check out their art work.
Exhibit Schedule
Stockton Public Library: 1/12/09 - 1/28/0p
Savanna Public Library: 2/2/09 - 2/8/09
Warren Public Library: 2/23/09 - 3/12/09
Hanover Public Library: 3/16/09 - 4/2/09
Galena Public Library: 4/6/09 - 4/22/09
Mt Carroll Public Library: 4/27/09 - 5/13/09
Elizabeth Public Library: 5/18/09 - 6/3/09
Freeport Arts Center: 6/16/09 - 7/11/09
*Gallery Opening at The Freeport Arts Center: 6/20/09
2pm-4pm
All work is inspired by the documentary Invisible Children, which was brought to class by a student. The documentary sheds light on the ongoing kidnapping of the Northern Ugandan children. Once the children are kidnapped they are forced to fight in the war (kill others) or be killed themselves. The children are both the weapons and the victims in this humanitarian crisis. They are casualties of this war in every sense of the word. While war is always a troubling event, one fought by young children that are forced to fight is particularly terrible.
Every night the children of Northern Uganda trek into the cities to sleep on the ground at hospitals and bus parking lots. They do this to avoid being kidnapped from their homes. In the morning, they pack up their blanket, if they had one, and walk back home. There is no adult supervision and every child has a friend that has been kidnapped and/or killed. In the documentary we watched in class, it was stated, "this would never happen in the United States, why aren't we upset when it happens in Africa?" The work you see by the students it their way of bringing awareness to this issue, that they care about. They are using their creativity to educate us and ultimately help make the world a better place.
More updates will be posted as the exhibit rotates through our communities. Thank you for your support.
