war & peace 08

I started the War & Peace project in 2004 in response to the Iraq war.
How could war be offered as a solution, as a way of “bringing democracy to Iraq”? But the madness happended … despite the protest, despite millions marching all over the world.

Well, it’s been five years now. Life goes on. Are we just numb to what continues to happen? Fed up of watching the news drip out day after day, year after year, with no resolution in sight? Moved onto other concerns: the planet is flooding/drying up; rising food prices are causing riots; the credit squeeze is hurting?

Albert Camus wrote in Neither Victims nor Executioners in 1946, “…it is fear and silence and the spiritual isolation they cause that must be fought… and it is the universal dialogue that must be defended.”

The universal dialogue … That is what this project is about. Artist, film maker, activist, peace builder, peace keeper, citizen: all have different experiences to share. If we just retreat into our safe like-minded groups, there would be no dialogue.

War & Peace is about challenging perceptions. Last year we asked whether Art could make a difference. This year, let’s ask an even bigger question: What does it take to build peace?

Fiona Kam Meadley