Windows and Mirrors

Windows and Mirrors is a travelling mural exhibit that makes a powerful statement on a nearly invisible reality. Take a moment to see if it is coming to your city.

The forty-five unique panels created by international artists and US students help us imagine the experience of Afghan civilians - from death and destruction to hopes for peace. Drawings by Afghan students in Kabul – collected in June 2010 – provide an up close look at life in a war zone.

At over 900 square feet, this mural is not a single painting, but an oversized statement on the human cost of war. It is not the voice of one person, but that of an engaged artistic community. Their collective voice comes through with power and volume, speaking to us on both intellectual and emotional levels.

The "windows" they have created to help us feel the impact on the Afghan people, become "mirrors" reflecting our own identity as citizens of a nation at war — and call us to act.

***

Warrior Writers is a project to create a community among those returning from war, addressing the alienation they experience. Through spoken word, poetry and visual arts these former soldiers attempt to make sense of what they have done, and what they have seen.

Jen Pacanowski read We Are Not Your Heroes and Chantelle Bateman read Pretty Lady at closing session of the Philadelphia Windows and Mirrors exhibit. Check out the recordings.