LITTLETON, Colo. (July 31, 2012) - Arapahoe Community College will host Speak Peace:  American Voices Respond to Vietnamese Children's Paintings from Oct. 17 - Nov. 13, 2012, in the Colorado Gallery of the Arts at the ACC Littleton Campus.

Admission is free and the exhibition is open to the public.  Hours of operation at the Colorado Gallery of the Arts are as follows:

MONDAY - FRIDAY:  Noon – 5:00 p.m. (open Tuesday until 7:00 p.m.)
SATURDAY / SUNDAY:  closed

Speak Peace is a collaborative, international project between Kent State University's Wick Poetry Center and School of Art Galleries, and Soldier's Heart, an organization that provides a unique and comprehensive model to address the emotional, moral and spiritual wounds of veterans, their families and communities.  The exhibit features original poems written by poets from all walks of life in response to Vietnamese children's paintings on peace and war collected over the last 10 years by the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

As part of the exhibition, ACC hosted a Speak Peace:  Colorado Responds art and poetry contest for all Colorado residents.  Speak Peace:  Colorado Responds WINNERS

Events during the Speak Peace exhibit include:

FORMAL RECEPTION - Friday, Oct. 19 (5:00 - 7:00 p.m.)
Nicole Robinson, Program and Outreach Coordinator for the Wick Poetry Center who has helped oversee the Speak Peace national project, will speak about the inception and growth of the exhibit.  Festivities will include a string quartet and refreshments, as well as dramatic readings of the exhibit's poems.  Readings will be performed by ACC creative writing faculty, various Colorado poets and Elliot Wilson.  Wilson will also give a short talk about the exhibit from the perspective of one of the Speak Peace poets.

SPEAK PEACE:  COLORADO RESPONDS RECEPTION - Friday, Oct. 26 (5:00 - 7:00 p.m.)
This reception for prize winners and honorable mentions will include readings of the winning poems at 5:30 p.m.  Digital representations of the winning artwork will be presented to the public, as well.  The winning poems and artwork will become part of a Colorado Online Gallery which will be linked to the Wick Poetry Center's national gallery.

VETERANS SCHOLARSHIP RECEPTION AND READING - Friday, Nov. 2 (5:00 - 7:00 p.m.)
A celebration and reception for recipients of the Daniels Opportunity Scholarship awards, which will include a reading by veteran Michael Eltrich.  A creative writing workshop for veterans, led by Diane McLean, will precede the reception from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. in Room M4730.  The workshop is being held specifically for veterans to respond to the themes raised by Speak Peace, and is not limited to ACC students.

CLOSING RECEPTION AND DINNER; SPRING INTERNATIONAL AND SPEAK PEACE COLLABORATION - Friday, Nov. 9 (6:00 - 9:00 p.m.)
The closing reception will be held in conjunction with the 32nd annual Spring International Language Center International Dinner in the ACC Dining Hall (Room M1900).  Dee Galloway and SETH, two local poets / jazz performers, will give a musical, dramatic reading of Speak Peace poems, Colorado Responds winning poems and works by Spring International Language Center students.  The theme for this year's International Dinner is "Join Hands with the World”, and festivities at the International Dinner will include music, dancing and student-prepared international cuisine.  Speak Peace artwork and poems will be projected on a screen during the dinner.

For more information about the Speak Peace exhibit at Arapahoe Community College, please contact Dr. Kathryn Winograd at kathryn.winograd@arapahoe.edu or 303.797.5815.