The thing Kong Chho remembers most about his 1993 departure from Cambodia is the view from the plane. He could only make out the rural landscape that abutted his village, and at age 3, he obviously knew even less of the uneasy peace that prevailed in the wake of the nation’s U.N.-sponsored elections. He and his parents had made it to the United States four years before a military coup would gut the Southeast Asian kingdom’s experiment with democracy. But just because Chho arrived safely doesn’t make him any less an immigrant. And for most of the month, a group from Platt College, the Rolando-area art and media design school he attends, will illustrate the concept behind his travels. On Friday, May 7, Liberty Station’s New Americans Museum Gallery will launch “Platt at Liberty Station: The Exhibition,” an installment of digital and fine artwork by students and faculty, whose themes deal with immigration, diversity and solidarity. They are lofty concepts, especially since the whole thing started as a simple school logo contest commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Czech Republic’s Velvet Revolution. Only a few of Platt’s nearly 300 students hail from other countries (most are from Mexico) — but for the 50 or so artists taking part, the experience takes on a familiar refrain. “Students of different ethnicities applied what they were taught and what they know to the logo design contest,” said Chho, now 20. “Each logo is personal, and it describes their personality — what they learned — within the logo. I guess you could say the exhibit is how America is. It’s like a melting pot. [Accordingly,] you have to use a universal symbol in your artwork, not just an individual symbol.” Chho’s symbol is the flower, the kind that protesters placed in troops’ gun barrels during the Czech Republic’s insurrection of 1989. “Svoboda,” which graces the bottom of the piece, is the Czech word for “freedom.” About 40,000 Czechs work abroad today, against a total of 16 million from over the globe who have emigrated to the U.S. since 1990. “I thought of it as designing a logo for a company,” Chho said, “and just applying that to what a logo is supposed to be — simple, easy to see and easy to understand.” The direct approach struck a chord with a four-judge panel from San Diego State University and three area museums, as Chho won the contest. He earned a free trip to Greece and Italy this fall, the latest annual destinations for Platt students. Lee Lipsey, gallery coordinator, said the exhibit is vital in furthering Liberty Station’s plans for growth. “One of the reasons I wanted Platt College here,” Lipsey said, “is that we have an abiding interest in having new media art and animation gain a presence at the NTC Promenade. This exhibit is for the rising generation. The generations coming along now are experiencing all of their art and culture through media. Media is their culture. I’ve been urging the board to get some younger people on it. “The media arts thing in San Diego is under the radar. We need to think about the commercial arts, fashion and media and interior design and décor, and create a center … where people can see and engage in all the different kinds of creative industries, not just the traditional visual and performing arts.” “Platt at Liberty Station” might serve as a springboard for such growth. Just as the American media enjoy the freedom to expand their horizons, so too do the installment’s participants. “Platt at Liberty Station: The Exhibition” runs through May 23 at the New Americans Museum Gallery, 2825 Dewey Road, Ste. 103 in Point Loma. The gallery is open Fridays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For added information, visit www.platt.edu or www.myplatt.com. For more about the gallery, e-mail [email protected]. May 7, the opening date, will feature an artists’ reception with poetry and music at 6 p.m.