Photo Credit: Deming Arts Center – Facebook
DEMING – A powerful international art and peace initiative has found a home at the Deming Arts Center, where a display of more than 1,000 origami paper cranes will remain on view for the next year.
The installation is part of the Peace Crane Project, a global effort that uses the simple act of folding paper cranes to promote peace, understanding, and connection among students and communities around the world. Locally, the project was spearheaded by Deming origami artist Jody Shields, with dozens of community members contributing by folding cranes for the display. The names of those who participated are listed alongside the artwork.
The project is inspired by the true story told in the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr. The book recounts the life of Sadako Sasaki, a young Japanese girl who developed leukemia as a result of radiation exposure following the atomic bombings of Japan during World War II. While hospitalized, Sadako began folding paper cranes, following a Japanese tradition that holds that folding 1,000 cranes can bring healing or peace. Although she did not survive, her story became a lasting symbol of hope and peace worldwide.
In the years since, schools across the globe have adopted the tradition of folding paper cranes as a way to teach students about history, empathy, and global awareness. Many classrooms now recreate the 1,000-crane project as part of peace education and cultural exchange.
Through the Peace Crane Project, students are invited to fold an origami crane, write a message of peace on its wings, and exchange it with another student somewhere else in the world. The program encourages friendship-building, strengthens hand-eye coordination and writing skills, teaches geography, and introduces students to new languages and cultures. Organizers say the project empowers young people to feel they can make a positive difference in their communities and beyond.
Participation in the Peace Crane Project is free and open to classrooms, teachers, students, schools, community groups, and individuals. Educators who are interested but not ready for a global exchange can still access resources, including instructions for folding cranes and educational materials connected to the project. Instructions on how to make origami cranes are also available at the Deming Arts Center.
Teachers interested in involving their classes can receive contact information to connect with the broader Peace Crane Project, where many students also correspond with one another as part of the exchange.
For additional information, contact the Deming Arts Center, 100 S. Gold, Deming.