MENTORSHIP

The Cities of Peace program distinguishes itself most notably through a methodology that uses the visual arts as the springboard for interdisciplinary engagement in peace building.

The Cities of Peace Education, Training, and Mentorship Program presents pioneering educational methods for meeting global challenges and building leadership. It involves students in active service to a world community by building understanding that crosses national, ethnic and religious boundaries.

The particular emphasis on cities in the Cities of Peace Education, Training, and Mentorship Program turns attention to a neglected aspect of ecology and urban studies, namely urban sustainability. In the face of current devastation of world cities at an alarming rate, such focus on urban conservation, including education about the historical greatness of these cities, is vital to students and the larger public.

MODEL

The Cities of Peace Education, Training and Mentorship Program is based on the successful implementation of the Illumination Atelier (derived from a Renaissance model) at the Ellen Frank Illumination Arts Foundation, Inc. where artist-interns worked alongside the master artist in the completion of Cities of Peace paintings. In a departure from traditional studio art education, artist-interns worked directly on the final product slated for exhibition and/or publication.

The Cities of Peace Education, Training, and Mentorship Program will cultivate compassion through its innovative methodology, which relies heavily upon reflective learning and collaborative, participatory student experience. The program will integrate interdisciplinary studies with the visual arts in order to build global understanding of world cities that have suffered strife, encourage dialogue among differing ethnicities, religions, and nationalities, and educate and encourage the development of leadership skills for future artist peacebuilders. In this program product (the artworks themselves) and methodology mirror each other: as peacebuilding skills are used in the creation of the art, the art, in turn, teaches these concepts to audiences who view it.

This integrated curriculum 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.