Saturday, May 27th, 6:30p at Bank Suey, 10345 Joseph Campau, Hamtramck
After two incredible, fruitful months, "The Wall Speaks" exhibition in Hamtramck is ending. We will celebrate the artists, speakers, organizers, docents, interns, volunteers, helpers, and viewer/participants who made this such a meaningful experience at our closing party on May 27th, 6:30p at Bank Suey. Wojtek Sawa, author of the exhibition, and Alissa Shelton, owner of Bank Suey will host the party - appetizers and refreshments will be served.
The Wall Speaks – Voices of the Unheard” is an internationally acclaimed exhibition, combining Art & History. It is dedicated to Polish children of World War II and all those today who are treated as less than fully human, and whose voices are unheard.The interactive multimedia exhibition makes use of history to draw viewers into sharing contemporary experiences of marginalization and abuse. During the months of April & May 2017, the community space, Bank Suey, became a pop-up museum, its entire 2,000 sq.ft. hosting the immersive experience and presenting weekly events featuring art, music, lectures and community discussions. We bridged the experience of Polish war children with that of Syrian war children through the "Children of Syria" exhibition featuring the work of Ilham Mahfouz. Our collaborators and supporters included: Hamtramck mayor, Karen Majewski, the department of classical and modern languages, and Global Studies Institute at Wayne State University, Hamtramck superintendent of education, Tom Nyczay, Polish-American Congress, Michigan division, Ukrainian Archives and Museum of Detroit, Vera Andrushkiw, Muslim-Jewish Forum, father Mirek Frankowski of St. Florian parish, Sugar Law Center and the National Lawyers Guild, Syrian-American Medical Association and dr. Abdalmajid Katranji, Yemeni students and community leaders in Hamtramck, Hamtramck High School, and Horizon Alternative School, the Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Chicago, Chicago Society P.N.A, Friends of Polish Art, American Institute of Polish Culture, and many others. We wish to thank Michigan Radio, WDET and Metro Times, and Walter Wasacz for their coverage of the project.
Most important we are thankful for the heartfelt reactions of viewer/participants, some of whom co-created the content and image of The Wall Speaks exhibition through their entries on interactive bricks.