From Auckland, New Delhi or San Francisco to Buenos Aires, Barcelona, Ushuaia and Hawaii, screens were replaced by a lit candle as a call for peace.
September 23, 2024.- On September 21, on the occasion of the UN International Peace Day, the "Essays for Peace" project was developed worldwide for the first time in digital version, appealing to global solidarity and peace without words, logos or political associations, just with a lit candle.
The installation, created by the Argentine artist Martin Bonadeo, had its first edition twenty years ago at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. “Essays for Peace transcends language, politics and cultural background. "The flickering candle embodies a universal icon for peace: each flame represents a soul seeking tranquility and rises as a prayer for global solidarity,” says Bonadeo.
In its 2024 edition, the artist invited to replace the content of all screens - public and private, large and small - with the image of a lit candle, achieving presence throughout the world.
The artistic initiative had the support of various NGOs such as International Cities of Peace and Mil Milenios de Paz that have “peace ambassadors” or representatives in many cities and media outlets, such as the cultural television channel Canal á in Argentina.
Likewise, Essays for Peace has the support of Pathways to Peace (PTP), a pioneering organization in meditation for peace worldwide and promoter of the establishment of an International Day of Peace at the United Nations. This year, on its fortieth anniversary, Pathways to Peace decided that Essays for Peace’s will be the visual symbol that accompanies the Peace Wave, a silent meditation minute on a global scale.
“We are grateful for the support of the national and global chambers and associations that group companies with public displays such as the World Outdoor Advertising Organization (WOO), Latam (ALOOH), USA (OAAA), PVBLIC, South Africa (OHMSA) India (IOAA) and others because that has allowed us to reach screens in cities around the world,” said Martina Dighero, project manager of the initiative.
In Valencia, Spain, Llorenç Barber, a renowned composer, has created a special score to accompany this global initiative that is performed through the ringing of bells at noon and midnight.
In Argentina, the artist's native country, the candle was also present in screens of 30 federal museums in almost all the provinces of the country. From the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes to smaller provincial museums, they were part of Essays for Peace thanks to the management of Matilde Llambí Campbell.
In other cities such as Ushuaia, Argentina, Essays for Peace could be seen on almost all the screens in the city and in its museums thanks to the leadership of people such as María Alejandra Rosell, from the Maritime Museum of that city, who even sent the candle to the bases on its neighboring continent of Antarctica.
Guillermo Caro, a publicist specializing in campaigns with a social cause who collaborated with the Essays for Peace team, clarifies that “although the scope of the proposal is difficult to calculate, it is estimated that it was millions since each of the DOOH (Digital Out of home advertising) screens on which the candle was displayed for 5 minutes, can have an audience of several thousand people and, as of today, we count donated spaces on more than 20,000 devices in 70 cities.” With this auspicious background, the team is preparing for a new edition with even more adhesions for 2025.
About the Artist
Martín Bonadeo is an Argentine artist whose pioneering work explores the intersection between art, science and symbolism. Bonadeo's concept of a projected candle as a symbol of unity and peace originated in 2004 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Since then, he has expanded this powerful image to multiple locations around the world, culminating in the monumental 2021 installation at the iconic Obelisco in Buenos Aires, where 19 screens simultaneously displayed the lit candle for five nights. This evolution underscores the growing impact of the project and its potential to resonate as a union in diversity on a global scale.
Contact Essays for Peace
Email: essaysforpeace@gmail.com
Website: https://essaysforpeace.com/#
Social Media:
- Instagram: @essaysforpeace
- Facebook: Essays for Peace
- LinkedIn: Essays for Peace
- #essaysforpeace
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