CITYarts 50 States of Peace was envisioned as a uniting response to the challenging times we the people in the USA have experienced during the harsh realities of the pandemic years. CITYarts 50 States of Peace will bring youth from across the USA into contact and dialogue with each other through the creation of art reflecting their visions of peace. Artworks from this program can be viewed through our 50 States of Peace Online Exhibition.
Our belief is that the power of education is central to every child’s development along a healthy and creative path in their lives. Therefore, our initiative will focus on public schools and engage teachers to connect with us and each other to bring CITYarts Pieces for Peace public art mural projects to their students. The goal of this initiative is to instill in the minds of our youth the idea that the cultivation of learning, the education profession, and our educators should be elevated to the most respected place in any strong democratic society. Our focus on enrichment activities and arts-based workshops driven by reflection, dialogue, and critical inquiry instills confidence in our youth, teaching not just foundational art skills, but essential life skills. Established studies such as the 2011 President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities demonstrates that youth who participate in arts education develop enhanced cognitive capacities for critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and innovation; personal capacities for self-regulation, self-efficacy, self-expression, and self-motivation; and social and civic capacities for engagement, communication, collaboration, empathy, respect, and participation in changing societies. Through visualizing and creating CITYarts Pieces for Peace, we are planting the seeds for much needed young leadership.
We are currently in active collaborative partnerships with the youth and community of:
Moravian University in Bethlehem, PA with MaryJo Rosania Harvie, Professor of Art & Art Education, Coordinator of Art Education
National Teacher Hall of Fame inductee Dr. Mellissa Collins and the students at John P. Freeman Optional School.
New Haven, CT and Yale School of Art with Kymberly Pinder, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Dean and Professor of Art and History of Art
Download the Fact Sheet
Email pieces4peace@cityarts.org for more information or to get involved!
CITYarts 50 States of Peace
CITYarts 50 States of Peace consists of five parts and is recommended for youth aged 12-20.
You can do one of the steps or all of them!
PART ONE: PIECES FOR PEACE WORKSHOPS
Youth from around the 50 States will participate in one-hour-long workshops in which they create 6x6 inch artworks that answer the question: “What does peace look like to me?” To date, CITYarts has received over 12,000 artworks from over 1,400 schools and community organizations in 122 countries on 6 continents. Now we go National to unite for peace.
PART TWO: 50 STATES OF PEACE ONLINE EXHIBITION
Mail or email your Pieces for Peace artworks to CITYarts and we will add them to the CITYarts Online Exhibition, joining over 12,000 Pieces for Peace by youth from around the USA and the world!
Congratulations! After completing Parts One and Two, you are officially a part of CITYarts’ 50 States of Peace Initiative.
The next 3 parts are optional — you can do some, none, or all of them, but we hope you’ll join us in these opportunities!
PART THREE: PEACEPALS
Youth who have created an artwork can explore our Online Exhibition and exchange their visions of peace with another youth participant through our PeacePals Initiative, bringing them into contact and dialogue with each other through the creation of art.
PART FOUR: TRAVELING EXHIBITION
You may host CITYarts’ Traveling Exhibition of 107 Pieces for Peace artworks by youth from around the world. Your students’ Pieces for Peace artworks will hang alongside our exhibition. Invite the community to come and celebrate the visions of peace.
PART FIVE: PEACE WALLS
In collaboration with a professional artist, your school, other schools in your city, and community members, the ideas formulated in the CITYarts Pieces for Peace workshop will inspire the Peace Wall — a permanent mural to be painted on a selected wall in the community.
