Background
Cities of Peace Illuminated is at once:
● The flagship initiative of the Ellen Frank Illumination Arts Foundation, Inc. a 501 (c)(3) global organization founded in 2004 dedicated to building a culture of understanding and peace through the transformative power of collaborative art-making with artists, students, scholars and institutions from more than 52 countries;
● A collection of monumental gold-illuminated paintings honoring the history and culture of cities that have experienced major conflict and trauma: Baghdad, Beijing, Hiroshima, Jerusalem, Kabul, Lhasa, Monrovia, New York, Pristina, Sarajevo and Yerevan. Neither violent nor polemic, the works celebrate the best of the human spirit. The Cities of Peace collection emphasizes understanding as a prerequisite to peace;
● Peacebuilding and Human Rights Education through the Visual Arts and cohesive critical
thinking and interdisciplinary inquiry;
● Cultural Diplomacy
The core values that guide Cities of Peace Illuminated include a belief in the critical role of cities in sustaining what is creative and hopeful in civilization; that art and culture matter in preventing the destruction of civilization, protecting cities and rekindling the human spirit; that cultural diplomacy, peacebuilding and leadership training are essential to our future.
Cities of Peace Illuminated was conceived and developed by visionary founder Ellen Frank, PhD who holds an interdisciplinary doctorate in Literature and the Visual Arts from Stanford University with studies at Yale, the Courtauld and Warburg Institutes in London and an Honorary Doctorate from Russian-Armenian University for Cities of Peace Illuminated. She has been the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Ford Foundation and a Pollock-Krasner Award in Painting. Dr. Frank co-founded the first interdisciplinary department at UC Berkeley. In 2018 she was awarded the title of Fulbright Specialist in Peacebuilding and Reconciliation by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs. Cities of Peace received an Award for Excellence by NATO and KFOR.
Since 2015, Cities of Peace Illuminated has created models for its international engagement, the best examples of which are its work in Pristina, Kosovo and in Krakow, Poland. The creation of the works in these cities provided participants with opportunities to establish teamwork with former enemies, inclusion of otherwise marginalized youth while restoring dignity, building pride and leadership, active citizenship, engagement with organizations and institutions with which participants were previously unfamiliar. Most of all, it built a loving, mutually supportive community among former strangers, even enemies. It provided a living example affirming American democratic values of equality, respect for the rights of the individual, civic engagement, and optimism. In both cities, Dr. Frank and Cities of Peace Illuminated US built consortia with local, national and international organizations and institutions, governmental agencies and private foundations. Dr. Frank gave guest lectures in such university departments as Fine Arts,
International Relations, Economics, Architecture, English and American Literature, and more.
The more than 300 direct participants included such individuals as: His Eminence The President of Kosovo, the US Ambassador, leaders from the ministries of Culture, Education, Foreign Affairs, Director of UNDP, international guests visiting the museum, NATO soldiers, members of Rotary International, diplomats and residents of Kosovo – families from toddlers to great grandmothers.
Education
Cities of Peace Illuminated has created an Educational Curriculum through the Visual Arts for students, artists, and educators based on a participatory collaborative interdisciplinary arts program in peacebuilding and leadership. The program seeks to counter the global rise in antisemitism, islamophobia, racism, and destructive forms of nationalism. The educational program provides participants with concepts, language and experience to help them develop an active sense of global responsibility, capacity for conflict resolution, reconciliation and community building. By bridging ethnic and religious diversity and national identity, Cities of Peace Illuminated opens a space for intercultural dialog to foster a sense of community accountability.