Archived Gallery Exhibit and Events

Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan opens on July 9, 2012 at the URI Providence Campus Gallery 80 Washington Street, Providence RI, a traveling exhibit that provides an opportunity to see ourselves in depictions of the war in Afghanistan through the eyes of artists and children. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization dedicated to peace and nonviolence, is bringing this exhibit to the URI Providence Campus Urban Arts and Culture Program for the Summer with free events and educational programming developed by AFSC-SENE and the URI Providence Campus Urban Arts and Culture Program to to accompany this dynamic exhibit.

Windows and Mirrors is a collaboration of more than 40 artists from around the world, including U.S. students. Fifty-two, 4-foot by 6-foot panels, each uniquely designed by an artist or group of artists, comprise one large display memorializing Afghan civilian casualties. The exhibit also includes images collected from Afghan high school students by Dr. Zahir Wahab, a professor at Lewis and Clark College who asked young Afghans to draw images from their daily reality.

To frame a dynamic dialogue on peace and explore opportunities for social justice, we are honored to have sculptures of internationally recognized, Rhode Island native artist, Anne Mimi Sammis which are like a dance of peace, and a celebration of hope and joy. Anne Mimi Sammis’ works are represented in more than 300 public and private collections worldwide. The sculptures range in size from 1 to 22 feet, and incorporate fountains and moveable figures. She supports the global work for peace with her artwork entitled One Thousand Years of Peace, an exhibition of 30 bronze sculptures. This body of work was exhibited at the United Nations in 2001. It was previously shown at the United Nations in 1999 and following that at The Hague, Netherlands, in conjunction with The Hague Appeal for Peace Conference. Ms. Sammis received a commission from the Archbishop of Canterbury for Lambeth Palace, England to honor Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, June 2002.

We will also display a large series of thoughtful, poignant portraits of people in Afghanistan photographed by Cranston native, Captain Nicholas Mercurio taken during his deployment to Aghanistan from July 2010 to July 2011. There, he served as Public Affairs Officer for Provincial Reconstruction Team Kunar, Forward Operating Base Wright, Kunar Province, Afghanistan. While deployed, Mercurio participated in 231 combat patrols, documenting the reconstruction mission of his unit with more than 10,000 photos. For his actions he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. Captain Mercurio was also awarded the Air Force Achievement Medal with Valor, Air Force Combat Action Medal, Army Combat Action Badge, Navy Achievement Medal, and the Army Achievement Medal. These images sensitively capture the Afghan people and also the non-battle related work done by our military to build bridges of peace and community around the world.

There will be a variety of activities, gallery talks and performance events planned with outreach to community organizations focused on Youth Education, Peace, and Nonviolence Training.

Public Forum: Speaker: Peter Lems, Program Director the Middle East for the American Friends Service Committee, “How Wars End: Lifting up the Voices of Civil Society in Afghanistan.”