Krzysztof Wodiczko's Veterans Project at Institute for Contemporary Art
Nov 4 2009 - 8:00am to 8:00 pm

Krzysztof Wodiczko
The Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston
November 4, 2009 – March 7, 2010

The Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston (ICA) has invited Krzysztof Wodiczko to create a new project focusing on veterans returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. This new project will go on view at the ICA November 4, 2009, just prior to the observation of Veterans Day, and continues through March 7, 2010.

Featuring:

• Iraqi Oil Worker Union Leaders
• Pakistani Women, Youth & Labor leaders
• Scholars and Policy Experts on Afghanistan
• Antiwar Trade Unionists from Across the US
• Iraq & Afghan War Veterans

We are at a turning point in US History. In 2008 the labor movement had a moment of triumph, playing a critical role in electing Barack Obama and a majority Democratic Congress. In 2009 we find ourselves still in the middle of a devastating economic crisis with wars and militarism standing between working people and the peaceful just world we seek and deserve.

Minnesotans plan trip to Gaza for Gandhi-inspired march | Press Release

CODEPINK: Women for Peace and the Minnesota Gaza Freedom March Participants' Committee Present Occupation 101, a film by Sufyan Omeish and Abdallah Omeish

Date: Sunday, December 6, 2009, 4:00 pm

Location: Hennepin Methodist Church, 511 Groveland Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55403

Cost: suggested donation $10 at the door, no one turned away

Minneapolis, Minnesota, December 6th, 2009 - A group of passionate Minnesotans are planning to participate in a bold, Gandhi-inspired peace march in Gaza, 'the world's largest open-air prison'. The group calls itself the “Minnesota Gaza Freedom March Participants' Committee” and today they are exhibiting a documentary film that highlights the injustice they hope to correct through participating in a non-violent mass action in Gaza with participants from around the world. The documentary, Occupation 101, is being shown as fundraiser. At least 3 members of the group are committed to traveling to Egypt and Palestine, with airline tickets already purchased. Others are excited to go, if only enough funds can be raised. A local march is being planned in the Twin Cities area simultaneous with the nonviolent march in Gaza, one mile to the closed Erez checkpoint on the border with Israel. Discussion and trainings on their organizing strategy follow the heart-wrenching film.

The idea came to the Twin Cities initially as a result of one of the organizers' participation in a healthcare reform lobbying effort that took him to Washington, D.C. In July. "I was in D.C. for the rally and citizen lobbying day hat marked the 44th anniversary of Medicare, on July 30th, and a little early for a fundraiser for the 'Healthcare NOT Warfare' campaign at Busboys and Poets, when an affiliated group, CODEPINK, had an event in that space the hour before our event started. I sat in on the meeting, and as soon as I heard about Gandhi being the inspiration of the Gaza Freedom March, I knew I had to participate in this," says Soren Sorensen. "Healthcare and the economy remain the issues that most Americans care about, according to polls, but it is hard to ignore the desperate plight of the Palestinians in Gaza. The have no access to healthcare, and the average Palestinian in Gaza earns $600 a year. The U.S. Governments support for this inhuman siege is, no doubt, reducing the favorability of U.S. Goods and services abroad. If the U.S. Aligns itself with international law and human rights, it could help our economic recovery. So there is some self-interest for us, but for me it is a greater issue of conscience."