(Clearwisdom.net) From June 9 to 10, the "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" art exhibit was held at Kwantlen University College in the city of Surrey. The artworks of more than 10 Falun Dafa practitioners from different countries deeply touched every person who came to the exhibition. While presenting traditional Chinese and Western art, the works also revealed the true stories of Falun Gong practitioners persecuted in China. A woman named Marcella who is an Italian immigrant learned about this art exhibit and saw a photo of the painting, "Pure Lotus" in a newspaper. She was moved by the serenity and beauty of the painting and decided to come to the exhibit. As the exhibit day was also the date that her mother went back to Italy, the whole family packed up her luggage and came to the university very early. To help her mother understand each painting, Marcella interpreted the practitioner's introduction and translated all the descriptions into Italian for her mother. She said that she was a Christian, and that she believed that everyone had to be responsible for everything they did, according to the principle that "good will be rewarded and evil will be punished".
  University students view the paintings |
  Marcella and her mother viewing the painting "Why" |
  An Indian student and her friend |
Marcella said that she hadn't known about the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners who practice the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." She supported the effort of practitioners in introducing the beauty of Falun Dafa and revealing the persecution through the medium of art, and believed that these efforts were very necessary. Before the family left, her mother asked seriously, "Why would the Chinese government persecute such a peaceful practice?" She couldn't understand why the Chinese Communist Party would persecute Falun Gong, and she took all the materials that the practitioners provided and said that she would study them back in Italy. Marcella left her contact information and told the practitioners repeatedly that many of her friends couldn't come to this exhibit and that the practitioners should let her know of the next exhibition so that she could send them over. "The exhibit is so beautiful and valuable," she said.
Many staff and faculty members also came to the exhibit during class breaks. One man wrote in the reception book, "Thank you all so much for bringing this beautiful art exhibit to our campus. In this world, people sometimes forget the existence of human rights violations. However, no one should be persecuted for believing in 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.'" A Taiwanese person wrote, "I wish for justice and peace to prevail in Mainland China."
An Indian representative of the Student Union came to the exhibit hall in a hurry, and she was exceptionally absorbed by the paintings. She delightedly told practitioners that she was attracted to the exhibit hall by a special energy and she saw a white radiance around all the paintings. As she had only very limited time, she rushed to the practitioners and asked if she could buy these paintings so that she could hang some in her room. She left her phone number and email address and told us repeatedly to send her more materials so that she could learn more about Falun Gong and the persecution. She also expressed her interest in learning the practice.
When the exhibit was about to close, three little Western girls came and they exclaimed at the paintings which were leaning against the walls for packing up. Pointing to a canvas entitled "Justice," one girl said: "This is an angel punishing evil."
There were many touching stories that took place during these two days, and we sensed that, despite the differences in race, culture and religious beliefs, everyone could feel the energy and sense the connotation of the paintings as well as the beauty, purity and hope brought by practitioners. With invitations from many faculty members and students, the art exhibit will be touring all four campuses of the university.
