Lao Diaspora Project Shares Stories Online and at Vine Arts Center

Chanthala Kommanivanh, Autumn in Chicago
Little Laos on the Prairie (LLOTP), an online news and culture journal, has been collecting stories for its Lao Diaspora Project since 2013. You can currently find photographs and written pieces on the blog. Starting this weekend, however, the stories will be presented as an exhibition at the Vine Arts Center. Titled "Refuge of the InvisibLao: A Visual Essay," the show will highlight the work of expressionist painter Chantala Kommanivanh and others.
"We're just hoping to spark conversations about where we came from, where we are now, and where we can go," she says. In gathering the stories, themes have emerged, including many issues of cultural identity, and the idea of pursuing the "American dream."
IF YOU GO:
"Refuge of the InvisibLao"
The opening storytelling reception takes place Saturday, January 10, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Vine Arts Center
2637 27th Ave. S., Minneapolis
Through January 24
Gallery hours are daily from 1 to 7 p.m.