With support from the U.S. government, South Sudan became the world’s newest country in 2011. The former Lost Boys of Sudan worked to help achieve this independence and inspired many good development projects—like schools, wells and clinics—in the new nation. In December 2013, fighting fueled by power and ethnic disagreements erupted in South Sudan.
On July 9, 2014, the third anniversary of South Sudan’s independence, the Myers Park Any1Can Club launched the Memes For Peace Project with collaboration from student leaders at East Mecklenburg and Independence High Schools.
The project incorporates “memes” (provocative combinations of image and text used to rapidly spread an idea) created by 700 Myers Park 9th grade English students that combine photos from war and its aftermath with phrases from: Romeo & Juliet, The Odyssey, The Hunger Games, and Monster. The exhibition will include 30 select memes.
See works of art in The Mint Museum’s Modern & Contemporary Collection, such as Charlotte’s Charlotte, which also use combinations of image and text.
