As a U.N. human rights officer, Armenia Nercessian de Oliveira helped negotiate peace in some of the most war-torn regions of the world, including El Salvador and Bosnia-Herzegovina. She has witnessed some of the globe’s major atrocities. And yet, she finds hope and inspiration in NOVICA artisans and their visions of peace.
Here, Armenia shares some of her favorite submissions from NOVICA’s permanent, evolving exhibition, The World Peace Project: A Global Arts Initiative. She was particularly moved by submissions in the paintings category.
In one painting, Child’s Affection for World, by Ida Ratna Ningrum, Armenia is intrigued by the depiction of our natural environment, which she believes is critical to long-term peace. She says: “I believe that in the future our world’s disputes will be increasingly about water and our other natural resources — so the health of our planet is an important aspect of current and future peace discussions.”
Another of her favorite submissions comes from Mexico. It is a necklace, Maya Bird of Peace and Love, by Rosa Rojo. Armenia was captivated by it. “The Maya believed the hummingbird was chosen by the gods as a messenger to carry good thoughts to all human beings,” Armenia notes, adding, “Ms. Rojo has depicted the hummingbird uniquely in this striking work of art.”
Beyond NOVICA’s World Peace Project, Armenia sees NOVICA itself as a natural extension of the peacekeeping work she undertook for the U.N. She says, “When we launched Novica in 1999, my efforts shifted to creating another type of positive influence – providing new fair trade opportunities for underserved artists and artisans in emerging markets around the globe, while at the same time helping bridge the vast divides between the world’s diverse peoples and cultures through art.”
You can read more about Armenia’s selections here. | | |
