Visual Artists Guild presents Spirit of Freedom: Tiananmen Square to The Berlin Wall

A Special Event for the 25th anniversary to commemorate the Tiananmen Massacre and to celebrate the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

In the spring of 1989, Beijing erupted with the largest spontaneous demonstrations the Peoples’ Republic of China had witnessed in its 40-year history.  The pro-democracy movement quickly spread to over 30 cities around China before the world witnessed the horrors of the government’s brutal crackdown in Tiananmen Square.  As the Chinese people fled from the tanks and guns, they asked the international press to let the world know the truth. They asked the world not to forget. 

On the other side of the world, the iron curtain divided Europe for more than 40 years and "the Berlin Wall" surrounded East Berlin for more than 28 years.  In 1989, Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Romania collapsed under its own repressive weight.  The fall of the Berlin Wall became the symbol of the Miracle Year of 1989.

On May 25, 2014, the Visual Artist Guild will hold a commemorative one day event  for the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre and to celebrate the Fall of the Berlin Wall in conjunction with Art & Democracy V art exhibition in recognizing participating artists and Building Bridges Art Foundation.

The event will feature speakers and performances.

Featured Speakers are:

Xu Wenli was the organizer of the 1979 Democracy Wall movement in Beijing that became the inspiration for the 1989 Pro-Democracy movement.  Twice imprisoned by the Beijing government, Mr. Xu was sentenced to a total of 28 years of which he served 16.  Through the efforts of the United States, Xu was released early both times.  Nancy Pelosi called him the "Conscience of China".

Hans Eberhard is the President of German-American Tricentennial Foundation

Rose Tang who became one of the thousands of nameless students who participated in the pro-democracy demonstration in Beijing 1989 and was interviewed by Mike Chinoy of CNN on the night of the massacre.  It was only ten years later through some miraculous coincidence they met and realized that they had met during that fateful night.

Performance by Ross Altman, Tony G, Joon Lee, Christine Linhardt, Bright Blue Gorilla

Purchase tickets online at www.visual-artists-guild.org