We welcome everyone back to the community of Hmongartists.net (HA). It was in 2003 that Ler (Hmongartists) and Teng (Hmongima) first opened this portal that would come to unite Hmong artists in the cyber world unlike anything before it. HA has also united Hmong artists outside the world wide web as well.
Although Hmongartists.net was formed in California, it is safe to say that it helped to form Studio 220 connecting local Hmong artists in the Twin Cities. Studio 220 later on came to form the film production crew known as Team Chow Fa which will be releasing their first feature film in July 2006.
The year of 2005 was a year of many milestones for our community. With the Fact Finding Commission (www.factfinding.org), musicians and visual artists came together to voice the community and educate them about the continued atrocities our Hmong people still face in the jungles of Laos. The H Project, was the first ever Hmong compilation CD with over a dozen Hmong musicians coming together volunteering for the sake of good hearts.
Hmongartists.net and its members also played a vital role in both the first annual Hmong Arts Summit and Exhibition (HASE) in Fresno, California and the continued 4th Hmong Art Festival held in St. Paul, Minnesota. Together we have begun the first steps of a Hmong renascence.
Kathy Moucheupao, Executive Director of the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent (CHAT) shared a quote with me and other Hmong artists a few days ago at the studio. It was a National Geographic article about the Hmong people before we even began our journey in the United States. The reporter asked a Hmong man “Why is it that there are not a lot of Hmong artists?” The man replied “It is because Hmong work all day and only dream at night.”
That quote is very significant and we should understand the meaning behind it. It means that the Hmong people are so busy in the day working and such, that we do not have the leisure time to make art as a living. We should be able to dream whenever we want. It is up to the younger generation to dream on, and let those dreams blossom into a life that our culture has been deprived of for so long.
We are the first generation of modern Hmong arts. It is up to us, through Hmong artists and all the Hmong supportive organizations, to unite and give art a purpose. To preserve and carry forth our culture may not be your choice, but it is encoded through your lineage.
The HA Administration gives great thanks for your continued support and understanding of our technical difficulties. Together, 2006 will be another milestone for the Hmong art community. We have to work together, stay connected, and share a progressive vision.
Art is voice. Use it to help your people.
