This text was submitted as a proposal to the apexart NYC25 Open Call
2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the U.S. wars in Southeast Asia, wars that caused international outcry. As wars continue across the globe—from Gaza to Ukraine, from Syria to Ethiopia—this exhibition asks: How do we rebuild a world scarred by destruction? What can art teach us about healing and renewal?
We are reminded that the scars of conflict endure long after the last shot is fired. From the ashes of war, Southeast Asian refugees have cultivated new life, embodying the resilience of the lotus— a symbol of rebirth that blooms even in the harshest conditions.
A LOTUS BLOOMING IN A SEA OF FIRE draws on the wisdom of Southeast Asian refugees, the largest refugee group ever settled in the U.S., to explore how art can foster healing. Through immersive sculptures, textiles, films, and performances, visitors are invited to reflect on their own roles in cultivating a world where war is not the end but the beginning of new possibilities.
Southeast Asian artists will be showcasing text-based installations displaying the adaptation of language, immersive sculptures illustrating the environment of war, textiles carrying forward Indigenous ecologies, and films demonstrating creative healing modalities.
At its core, A Lotus Blooming in a Sea of Fire imagines a future where communities and the planet recover and thrive, shaped by the resilience of those who have endured unimaginable loss. The exhibition invites viewers to envision healing not only for humanity but for all living beings—human, animal, and ecological—impacted by war. It is both a reflection on the past and a blueprint for a future where life can flourish again.
By marking the 50th anniversary of the Southeast Asian wars, this exhibition serves as both a time capsule and a vision of possibility, where the audience is invited to witness how Southeast Asian refugee artists have transformed the remnants of war into living, breathing art.
2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the U.S. wars in Southeast Asia, wars that caused international outcry. As wars continue across the globe—from Gaza to Ukraine, from Syria to Ethiopia—this exhibition asks: How do we rebuild a world scarred by destruction? What can art teach us about healing and renewal?
We are reminded that the scars of conflict endure long after the last shot is fired. From the ashes of war, Southeast Asian refugees have cultivated new life, embodying the resilience of the lotus— a symbol of rebirth that blooms even in the harshest conditions.
A LOTUS BLOOMING IN A SEA OF FIRE draws on the wisdom of Southeast Asian refugees, the largest refugee group ever settled in the U.S., to explore how art can foster healing. Through immersive sculptures, textiles, films, and performances, visitors are invited to reflect on their own roles in cultivating a world where war is not the end but the beginning of new possibilities.
Southeast Asian artists will be showcasing text-based installations displaying the adaptation of language, immersive sculptures illustrating the environment of war, textiles carrying forward Indigenous ecologies, and films demonstrating creative healing modalities.
At its core, A Lotus Blooming in a Sea of Fire imagines a future where communities and the planet recover and thrive, shaped by the resilience of those who have endured unimaginable loss. The exhibition invites viewers to envision healing not only for humanity but for all living beings—human, animal, and ecological—impacted by war. It is both a reflection on the past and a blueprint for a future where life can flourish again.
By marking the 50th anniversary of the Southeast Asian wars, this exhibition serves as both a time capsule and a vision of possibility, where the audience is invited to witness how Southeast Asian refugee artists have transformed the remnants of war into living, breathing art.
Song Hà, meaning "twin rivers" in Vietnamese, explores infinity within ourselves and the world. Rooted in nature, her work is a remembering of how vast and wild we truly are.
apexart’s program supporters past and present include the National Endowment for the Arts, Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, the Kettering Family Foundation, the Buhl Foundation, The Martin and Rebecca Eisenberg Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Spencer Brownstone, the Kenneth A. Cowin Foundation, Epstein Teicher Philanthropies, The Greenwich Collection Ltd., William Talbott Hillman Foundation/Affirmation Arts Fund, the Fifth Floor Foundation, the Consulate General of Israel in New York, The Puffin Foundation, the Trust for Mutual Understanding, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and administered by LMCC, funds from NYSCA Electronic Media/Film in Partnership with Wave Farm: Media Arts Assistance Fund, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, as well as the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.