Social Impact Campaigns
The Peace Studio often works alongside key partners to run campaigns that elevate the public dialogue around the urgency of peace and peacebuilding.
In 2020, we launched our 100 Offerings of Peace campaign with 100 artists in 20 countries – a 4-month campaign from July to November that included a special #OfferPeace challenge from renowned cellist and citizen-artist Yo-Yo Ma. The ask from Yo-Yo was simple: “Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, how might people use their social media accounts to spread moments of peace in a challenging time?” In addition to the responses from our 100 commissioned artists, hundreds of other individuals took to their social media accounts to spread their peaceful messages. Additionally, each of the artists in our campaign included a digital action step alongside their commissioned offering, such as signing petitions, practicing mindfulness exercises, donating online to justice initiatives, and more, to encourage viewers to see the value in promoting peace through small, individual actions.
From 2020 – 2021, we saw over 300 mass shootings in the U.S., the most ever in a single year. Our 2021 campaign was focused on the question: “How can we begin to build a culture of peace here in the United States amidst so much race-based hatred and acts of violence?” The series was called Conversations that #OfferPeace.
Hosted by MSNBC Correspondent Trymaine Lee, each conversation engaged thought-leaders around this critical question and reached audiences across the U.S. through partnerships with PBS All Arts and NowThis.