For some good news this week: We just received a grant from the University of Minnesota's CURA ANPI program to work with The Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota to develop a cohort of storytellers in North Minneapolis.
The aim is to effectively grow their neighborhood memory while finding innovative ways to share and express that journey. We will do the majority of their work at the Harrison Community Center where our community feels most connected over the last ten years to Lao Assistance Center services. The core constituents are Lao American refugee families historically been underserved by the arts.
The Lao Assistance Center has served refugees for 30 years in Minnesota. This year is particularly significant because 2015 marks the 40th year since the beginning of the Lao Diaspora. Minnesota has the third largest Lao population in the US.
Among the outcomes they hope to achieve will be a regular live reading/presentation of various community stories, a small publication and online gallery, videos and other interconnected arts media in response to the stories that emerge. A key part of the process is asking the participants to work with the artist to really examine what Lao values were, are, and should be in coming decades ahead. They will also plan to have a monthly workshop series. They have selected 9 topics covering many parts of the Lao Minnesotan journey in North Minneapolis they hope to see developed.
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