The Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota will engage poet, Bryan Thao Worra, to produce Laomagination: 45, an interactive, interdisciplinary exhibition presenting multi-generational stories of the Lao community as it marks its 45th anniversary of migrating to Minnesota, now home to one of the largest Lao populations outside of Southeast Asia.
“This is an important time for the Minnesota Lao community to assemble and share our personal and collective stories,” said Sunny Chanthanouvong, executive director of the Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota. “This grant will allow Thao Worra and his fellow Laotian artists to present 30 new visual artworks and 15 performance pieces during the exhibit’s run.”
The work, launching in the spring of 2020, intends to spark new conversations among Lao refugees living in the state, and Lao leaders nationwide, to help tell the story of their migration and cultural heritage over the last 45 years.
