BuildaBridge Community Programs

On a chilly November evening more than 30 people gathered at the mural exhibit opening celebration on the fourth floor of the Nationalities Service Center in Philadelphia. As you walked through the lobby, a beautiful and colorful mural on the wall catches your eye. “We want to tell our story. We want our grandchildren to know our story. We want that to be preserved.” This quote echoes the wish Bhutanese refugee elders have for their children and for the Philadelphia community - sharing their history and culture through this mural.  A few elders also expressed that they hope their mural will be an inspiration to other refugee communities in Philadelphia to do the same through art - communicate their history, cultural, journey and hope for the future Kerenza Reid, Project Coordinator from Nationalities Services Center for the Philadelphia Partnership Resilience (PPR) opened the event with background information about the project and a few words of appreciation with pauses in between ...

Join us in celebrating the journey of Bhutanese refugee elders! Friday November 14th, 5:30 pm-7:30 pm Nationalities Service Center 1216 Arch Street, 4th Floor, Philadelphia "We want to tell our story. We want our grandchildren to know our story. We want that to be preserved." Join the  Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience  in celebrating a mural created by Bhutanese refugee elders residing in South Philadelphia!  BuildaBridge Artists-on-Call led the group of 15 Bhutanese refugee elders over the past 3 months in creating the mural with vibrant colors and fabrics reminiscent of their culture. The mural depicts the elders' lifestyle in Bhutan, their flight into Nepal where many spent almost 20 years in refugee camps and their journey to Philadelphia. We invite you to join us in honoring the elders' artwork and their goals for the mural in an exhibit opening celebration on Friday November 14th from 5:...