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Enlightenment. Reflection. Serenity. Those are a few words to best describe what is happening across Chicago neighborhoods and you have community organizations Changing Worlds and ElevArte Community Studio to thank for that.
"It's time we start to think about peace," said ElevArte 's Executive Director Giselle Mercier. "We know parts of the city are engulfed by violence, that's all you hear about. We hear about the rise of homicides in our city. So we hope to bring a different mindset to residents, one that will, hopefully, promote and spark conversation about peace." And who better to evoke peace, than peace personified, Buddha.
Beginning this month, residents will find ten Buddha sculptures "emerging" in ten Chicago neighborhoods as far north as Evanston to as far south as Back of the Yards, and the purpose of this, said Mercier, is to inspire residents to begin the dialogue of implementing more peaceful tactics into their daily lives.
The Buddha sculptures are part of Ten Thousand Ripples (TTR), a public art exhibit, promoting peace designed by Mercier's longtime friend, Indira Freitas Johnson, an award-winning artist and nonviolence peace educator. Through TTR, Johnson's vision for her outdoor exhibit of Buddha sculptures is to give the illusion these sculptures are "emerging" out of the ground in urban, public spaces. "A powerful and profound need exists within each of us to know that peace is possible in spite of the violence that surrounds us. Ten Thousand Ripples is a reminder of that need," said...