ART FOR PEACE CURRICULUM

Cities of Peace opens a space for inter-cultural dialogue through multiple platforms, bypassing and transcending politics. Cities of Peace pedagogy and its cohesive infrastructures provide tools for reconciliation and building a culture of peace. As stated at an international panel on Cities of Peace by UN Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, Cities of Peace provides a new cultural diplomacy: “art reminds us that we have a common human foundation which makes diplomacy possible.” Cities of Peace does so by focusing on these 5 thematic units:

  1. Realizing Peace as a Human Right
  2. Children and Youth for Human Dignity: Creating Change
  3. Creativity and Communication: Dialogue and Diversity
  4. Culture as Heritage: Cultural Aspects of Human Rights
  5. Building new Cities of Peace.

Individuals interested in learning first-hand about the creation of Cities of Peace may want to look at our mentorshipopportunities.

While there are many options for short-term educational components to accompany a Cities of Peace exhibition (see Host Cities of Peace and Educational Programs), institutions such as universities and community organizations may be interested in more involved, longer-term pedagogical experiences. Please find below an example curriculum proposal prepared for an educational institution.

INSTITUTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND OUTCOMES

  • Production of new, monumental museum quality Cities of Peace paintings, each honoring a city that has experienced or is currently experiencing genocide and/or culturacide. These may include, inter alia Aleppo, Beirut, Belfast, Bujumbura. Selection criteria may include: cities currently experiencing devastation; cities in the process of rebuilding following devastation; populations at risk, in need of hope and creative transformation of conflict; cities whose historical greatness and cultural achievements are largely unknown or unexplored by the student population and a wider public.
  • This work would be realized through an atelier or workshop model that differs from a traditional classroom model. The atelier structure grows out of the successful implementation of the Illumination Atelier at EFIAF. It uses medieval guilds and Renaissance workshops as its inspiration in which students are mentored by Dr. Frank and work on the actual paintings themselves rather than on their own work.       Unlike guilds or conventional contemporary artist studios, students receive name credit in all print and published material accompanying the project. This innovative pedagogical peacebuilding process itself relies on a combination of creativity, interdisciplinary research, critical thinking, design, and art techniques to create not only the physical paintings, but also an innovative learning structure and atmosphere.
  • Collaborations to build and/or print 3 and 4 D Cities of Peace objects and virtual Cities of Peace and to develop innovative, interactive software specific to urban destruction, reconstruction and sustainability.

EDUCATIONAL OFFERINGS

  • Workshops in peace education methodologies for educators from the community and students interested in careers in education. Workshops may include as guests leading figures in the field of peace education such as contributors to theJournal of Peace Education, Journal of Peace Research, and Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice.
  • Training in the history and techniques of gold leaf illumination for art students and artists in the local community.
  • The history of the book from “scrolls and scribes” through illuminated manuscripts to the Gutenberg revolution. [This topic has special poignancy in light of the destruction of the earliest clay tablets in the Damascus Museum.]
  • Definitions and explorations of “culturacide,” such as devastation of museums and libraries, decline in reading, and decline in overall valuing of educated populaces. [Aleppo; Baghdad; Kabul; Sarajevo]