Photos by Jennifer Donovan For the Mining Gazette Children of the Keweenaw pose with artwork produced for the International Day of Peace. Coordination across local organizations allowed for conversations in a variety of settings and children were posed with the task of depicting peace.

Children in Houghton and Hancock spent the summer creating art depicting peace. They proudly displayed their work to the public at an Art for Peace exhibition on Thursday at the Copper Country Community Arts Center in Hancock.

“Just as seeds you plant in the ground grow into beautiful flowers and delicious fruits and vegetables, you are planting seeds of peace and kindness,” Pastor Sarah Semmler-Smith told a group of gathered children whose artwork was displayed at the exhibit.

The Art for Peace project was sponsored by Keweenaw Faiths United, an interdenominational group that is working to promote peace and prevent violence. Since Houghton and Hancock became International Cities of Peace in 2021, Keweenaw Faiths United has celebrated the International Day of Peace–September 21–every year. Art for Peace was the group’s 2023 project, and the exhibition of the children’s art work was held on the International Day of Peace.

The exhibit of children’s artwork will be on display at the Copper Country Community Arts Center until September 30.

Many community groups sponsored Art for Peace activities during the summer. Nadija Packauskas founder of Yoopers for Ukraine, led a program where children heard what it feels like to live in a country that’s at war. Then they were given paper, crayons and markers to draw what peace meant to them.

Photos by Jennifer Donovan For the Mining Gazette Children of the Keweenaw pose with artwork produced for the International Day of Peace. Coordination across local organizations allowed for conversations in a variety of settings and children were posed with the task of depicting peace.

“Exploring expression through art and giving kids a voice. How fabulous to give value to soul like that,” says Packauskas, a graduate student at Michigan Technological University. “Our children are the ones who are going to bring peace to the world.”

In August, Yoopers for Ukraine took the Art for Peace project to Art in the Park in Copper Harbor. They had a booth at the art fair, with drawing materials for visitors to use. They also sponsored a pop-up peace table at Chutes & Ladders in Houghton.

Rev. Sarah Diener-Schlitt, pastor of Trinity Episcopal Church in Houghton, sponsored an Art for Peace activity after a monthly community meal. After sharing pizza and a tour of the gothic revival-style church, the minister led a discussion on the meaning of peace. Then children and adults alike drew pictures depicting peace.

“What stood out to me was the seemingly simple answers the children gave,” says Diener-Schlitt. “After years of working with children before my call to the priesthood, particularly in creative spaces, I still often underestimate children’s wisdom and curiosity. It is a gift to us and has the ability to teach us more than we expect.” 

A bookstore in Houghton, The Well Read Racoon, displayed hand-drawn pictures from children in Ukraine, depicting their lives and their cry for hope and peace. Children in the Keweenaw were able to create their own peace drawings while viewing the Ukrainian children’s art. The Ukrainian children’s art will be on display until September 27.

Children had the opportunity to make tie-dyed T-shirts with peace symbols on them at a Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship service. Many of them wore those shirts to Thursday’s event.

“If I learned anything during this project, it is that peace is really important to Copper Country children,” says Miriam Pickens, a Hancock resident who helped organize the Art for Peace project. “They think about peace and violence and seek out ways to create peaceful spaces in their lives. And given the challenge, they will stretch to talk about peace on a larger scale.”