The Journey: From Vietnam to the United States

The Journey: Vietnam to the United States was a collaboration between Mural Arts Philadelphia, the BRIDGE pre-collage program at University of the Arts and the Bo De Buddhist Temple. Lead artist Shira Walinsky worked with poet Phoebe Zinman and students from the BRIDGE program and community leaders from the Bo De Buddhist Temple to explore themes of Buddhist culture, Vietnamese culture, and Vietnamese-American immigration stories. UArts also hosted tile-making workshops which were open to students and the community. The mural includes the following poem from an unknown Vietnamese poet:

King, Father, Mother
Husband, Wife
Sat Down in One Boat.
Met a Storm and Sank.
Dearest Husband,
I Want to Know
Who You Would Save.

Standing Before Heaven
I Cannot Lie.
I Would Place
The King on My Head.
Father and Mother
On My Shoulders,
And Say to You, Dear Wife,
Swim Here.
I Will Carry You on My Back,
And With My Hands
I’ll Save the Boat.

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The mural was dedicated on Sunday, April 22, 2007. The dedication event featured a film screening and panel discussion at UArts about the making of the mural, and a traditional Buddhist ceremony at the Temple with authentic Vietnamese food.