The stories that we tell and the pictures that we paint of peace influence how we imagine, understand, promote and work towards it. The items in this ‘room’ explore different ways of representing peace in art, dance, music, film and other kinds of storytelling. We want to draw attention to long-standing habits and innovative approaches, because both can get us thinking about peace in unexpected ways. We encourage visitors to look critically at different techniques and to ask themselves how they might represent peace in different media. Above all, we want to raise awareness of the impact that storytelling can have, not only on how we visualise peace but also on how we build it and what kinds of peace we invest in. How have different representations of peace influenced the way you understand it? What narratives or representations of peace have you shared with others? And what habits of visualising peace would you be keen to encourage in future?
‘We Came in Peace for All Mankind’: Apollo 11 and Peace Rhetoric
On July 20th, 1969, the astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins made…
Reimagining Human Nature through the Bonobo
In African Genesis (1961), journalist Robert Ardrey approaches human nature from an evolutionary perspective….
Repurposing tradition: Andean Women in Peruvian Art and Activism
The Andean community of Sarhua, located in southern Peru, is an indigenous community with…
Peace and Transcendence: Mundane Experiences
‘Day-to-day things, the mundane, are what keeps the motor running. How extraordinary the ordinary really…
Is Jim Bendell’s Climate Doomism Our Chance to Visualise a Peaceful Future?
In his seminal article, “Deep Adaptation,” Jim Bendell writes, “When I say starvation, destruction,…
Peace in Disney’s fairy tales: The Little Mermaid (1989)
Disney’s animated film, The Little Mermaid, was released in 1989 and follows the story…
Architecture for Peace: The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, designed by the Japanese architect Kenzō Tange, lies in…
Building a Utopia: Palmanova, Italy
Nobody owns anything but everyone is rich – for what greater wealth can there…
‘I Have a Message for Germany’: Inglourious Basterds, Retributive Justice, and Peace
Inglourious Basterds is the seventh feature film from American writer-director Quentin Tarantino. Released in…
Picturing Peace in the DRC
Award-winning photographer Hugh Kinsella Cunningham has spent the past five years in the Democratic Republic of…
Close Encounters of the Peaceful Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 film written and directed by…
Peace as Transcendence
‘Being human profoundly means to be open to the world, a world, that is,…
The shield of Achilles
Homer’s epic poem The Iliad dates from the 8th century BCE and tells the…
The Inner Peace of Mary Oliver’s Poetry
Award-winning poet Mary Oliver has published more than fifteen collections of poetry in the…
Machuca (2004): Children and Conflict in Cinema
Gallery of Victims in El museo de la memoria y los derechos humanos In…
Versions of Antigone: Sophocles’ Classic Heroine as an Anti-War Symbol
Sophocles’ Antigone Written in around 441 BC, this ancient Greek tragedy has been around…
Place is the Path to Peace
How would you describe the landscape of peace? The landscape of war, propagated by…
The Plowshares Movement
The Plowshares Movement originates from a protest action which took place in Pennsylvania in…
Pockets of Peace in St Andrews
As my research on peace has developed further in the direction of taking love…
‘Could Be Laughs’: MASH, Film, and Artivism
MASH was an American TV show which ran from 1972 to 1983. It followed…
Visualizing Peace(ful Cities): The Experimental City
‘You become so attached to what you believe is the future, and a better…
Peace in Faith and Practice: Religion, Idealism and Pragmatism
What can the Quaker visualisation of peace tell us about how we view peace…
Visualizing Peace(ful Cities): THE LINE in NEOM
‘Why anyone would want to move there, and why a city should be shaped…
Peace in Faith and Practice: Mediation and Disarmament
I do not know whether Quakers have special aptitudes or skills as mediators, but…
Visualizing Peace(ful Cities): Arcosanti
Exterior and interior of Arcosanti, photos by Finn on Unsplash ‘The problem I am…
Peace in Faith and Practice: Visualising Peace as Relief from Suffering
‘Almost always there is, behind the physical need, something much less concrete, a damaged…
Screenplay: No Love Lost
This summer I went with a group of friends to a nightclub in Edinburgh….
Visualizing Peace(ful Cities): The Invisible Urbicide Project
In autumn 2022, I created the Invisible Urbicide Project to encourage a general audience…
Visualizing Peace(ful Cities): The 15-Minute City
‘I would like to offer a concept of cities that goes in the opposite…
Peace in Faith and Practice: Quakers and Conscientious Objection
‘The savage momentum of war drags us all in its wake…’ London Yearly Quaker…
Screenplay: Hyacinths
“Listen. Listen to me.” I am writing a series of screenplays, reflecting on different…
Douglas Gillespie’s ‘Path of Peace’
In 2022, Sir Anthony Seldon published The Path of Peace: Walking the Western Front…
Little Gidding
The dove descending breaks the airWith flame of incandescent terrorOf which the tongues declareThe…
A Manufactured Image/With No Philosophies: Art and Peace in Head (1968)
Trigger warning: suicide The Monkees were a hybrid acting group/rock band formed in the…
Peace in Faith and Practice: The Origins of Quaker Testimony on Peace and Non-violence
Take heed, dear Friends, to the promptings of love and truth in your hearts….
Taking love and care seriously in classrooms
Mindfulness is the energy that allows us to look deeply at our body, feelings,…
‘Add Women and Stir?’ For the Love of Feminism, Please Put the Spoon Down!
‘Peace and security missions face a plethora of challenges today. In today’s world, the…
The Power of Comics in Peace Education
‘Āśā’, by Harris Siderfin and Maddie McCall (2022). You can download read the full…
STAR WARS: THE FINAL FRONTIER?
Discussing the Importance of Peace in Space ‘The Moon and other celestial bodies shall…
How do children visualise ‘Life after Conflict’?
Since 2013, the charity Never Such Innocence (NSI) has been giving children and young people a…
Peace is Fun!
What do you remember learning about peace as you grew up? By the time…
Dad’s Army: Pockets of Peace and Humour?
Still from Dad’s Army (1971), directed by Norman Cohen; timestamp 1.20.00-1.27.52, accessed via BoB…