The East Side Freedom Library and The Floating Library invite you to:

Boat Folding Circle and Discussion

Sunday, May 20th, 2018, 1-4pm

Learn how to fold a simple paper boat and help build a collection of 1,000 paper boats as part of poet and book artist Anh-Hoa Thi Nguyen’s paper memorial commemorating the lives lost during the Vietnamese refugee waves of 1954 and after The War in Vietnam and South East Asia, 1975-1992.

In this project, each boat represents a person that was lost in the fleeing, and will be remembered on the last day of the Floating Library, as part of a poetry reading and an honoring and healing ritual on Lake Phalen open to the public. Anh-Hoa hopes that this project will increase awareness and understanding of the multi-faceted complexity of the Vietnamese refugee experience, and that other diasporas will be able to connect through their cultures’ shared crossings and sacrifices.

As our hands are folding, we will discuss our own water histories and homeland stories.

No origami experience necessary!  Light refreshments will be provided.

The Floating Library is a collection of books made by artists that sit aboard a raft floating on Lake Phalen this summer on weekends from July 22 – August 5. Rent a boat and paddle out to read!  For more information, visit www.thefloatinglibrary.org

Are you a book artist, zine-maker or comic drawer? The Floating Library’s Open Call for Books is open! Deadline for submissions is May 25. Read more here: https://thefloatinglibrary.org/open-call/

Free and open to all

East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier St.

[email protected] and 651-207-4926