Art Exhibit in Charlotte During DNC to Highlight Drones Killing and Terror

Will delegates to the Democratic National Convention (DNC) take time from their upcoming event in Charlotte to open a window into the pain and injury that have been caused by their candidate's drone attacks in Afghanistan and other countries?

On September 1 through 8, they will be able to view the murals of Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan, a project of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), at Wells Fargo Gallery in Spirit Square.

An opening reception will be held Saturday, September 1, from 4:00pm-6:00pm.

Muralists from around the world have contributed their work to create this memorial to the human cost of war in Afghanistan. This collection is a powerful testimony to the violence of war. It is also a story of resistance and the human spirit.

The exhibit has been part of the effort to educate the public about drones killing and terror, and other aspects of U.S. war-making, in Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, and many other states.

The mural above, "The 'Peace' Operations of the US. Airstrikes on Weddings," is by Art Hazelwood and Juan Fuentes of San Francisco, CA. According to the exhibit catalog, "This mural is based on a poster created during the Spanish Civil War (1936 – 1939) to protest the aerial bombardment by the Fascists of civilian populations. The original poster showed a dead child and said, “MADRID The ‘Military’ Practice of the Rebels.” The sky in the poster was similarly filled with a web of bombers. In our mural we contrasted the bombers (in this case drones) with a traditional Afghan wedding celebration. The text at the bottom details six documented airstrikes on wedding parties in the course of the war, total civilian deaths are at least 367 at wedding parties alone. It goes without saying that an aerial attack on wedding parties represents only a tiny fraction of all civilian deaths in Afghanistan."

All murals in the exhibition can be previewed online.

Wells Fargo Gallery
Spirit Square
345 North College St.
Charlotte, NC
Exhibit hours: Mon-Sat. 9am - 6pm; Sun. 1-5pm
Exhibit runs September 1-8, 2012.