DOINews: National Park Service Featuring Students' 'Stories of Home' Art Exhibit at DOI Museum in Honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

	In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the National Park Service is featuring the art of high-school students inspired by the stories of the Southeast Asian community with an art exhibit at the Department of the Interior Museum. The "Stories of Home" exhibit is open to the public from May 6-20, 2014.

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the National Park Service is featuring the art of high-school students inspired by the stories of the Southeast Asian community with an art exhibit at the Department of the Interior Museum. The exhibit was also featured at a ceremony the White House Initiative on AAPIs hosted at the Interior's Sidney Yates Auditorium on May 6.

Titled “Stories of Home,” the exhibit features art created by students at McLane High School's ArtVenture Academy in Fresno, Calif. The pieces were inspired by the students' interviews with more than 300 Southeast Asian staff, community leaders, family members and friends regarding experiences in Laos, refugee camps and the United States. The exhibit is open to the public from May 6-20, 2014, at the DOI Museum, located at 1849 C St N.W., Washington, DC 20240. Additional information about visiting exhibits at the museum is available here.

As part of the effort to tell America's stories, especially those of minorities and women who have made significant contributions to our nation's history and culture, the National Park Service established the Asian American Pacific Islander Initiative, an ongoing series of projects exploring how the legacy of Asian American Pacific Islanders can be recognized, preserved, and interpreted for future generations. The initiative includes the ongoing Asian American and Pacific Islander Theme Study, which started in February 2013, is expected to be completed in early 2016. The theme study essays will guide future nominations of National Historic Landmarks and National Register of Historic Places properties, in an effort to increase the diversity of sites included in those programs.

By: April Slayton, chief spokesperson, NPS
May 8, 2014