History and art meet at UW Oshkosh’s Annex Gallery on the second floor of the Arts and Communications Center with its new exhibit, “A Field of Secrets,” depicting artifacts from Hmong-American refugees from the Vietnam War era and the “secret war” in Laos.
Though the exhibit has had many different iterations since 2018, this year’s installation is celebrating 50 years of Hmong refugee resettlement in Wisconsin.
The exhibit is put on by Cia Siab, a Hmong non-profit group founded by women from La Crosse. This specific exhibit is curated by Chong Moua and Choua Xiong, assistant professors of Hmong studies and history at UWO, with UWO alumna Mai Chong Yang as the project coordinator.
The exhibit tells the story of Hmong resettlement through artifacts like photographs, declassified CIA documents related to the secret war in Laos and refugee documents and paperwork.
These artifacts are suspended from the ceiling to create a dreamy landscape, even including a bench right in the middle of the exhibit so that you can further immerse yourself into the history.
These refugee documents include promissory notes, a written promise that refugees will pay back the plane ticket that took them to America, and family documents proving refugees went through the proper channels to come to the U.S.
“I think the coolest document we have is the promissory note,” said Moua. “People (sometimes think), ‘They came over for free, right?’ And I just want to say, no. Let me show you this note that I guarantee you all refugee Hmong families had to sign it before they came here.”
Students or Oshkosh residents can check out the exhibit now until Oct. 2 at the Annex Gallery at room N204 in the Arts and Communications Center. The gallery is open from 11a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 6-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, and from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday.
