International Peace Day celebration in Ashland on Sunday also marks 10th Anniversary of the Ashland Culture Of Peace Commission – Ashland News

Month of ‘Visionary Art From The Heart’ events wraps up with water ceremony Friday at Phoenix gallery

By Kayla Heffner for Ashland.news

Events Sunday in Ashland and Friday in Phoenix mark the International Day of Peace and the closing of a “Week of Peace.” 

Sunday’s event at the Thalden Pavilion marking the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission (ACPC) features Southern Oregon University President Rick Bailey as keynote speaker and music by the Ashland Peace Choir, all by the world’s only solar-powered World Peace Flame, a living symbol of unity, hope and environmental stewardship.

The closing water ceremony at Langford Art Gallery in Phoenix will be led by cultural leaders, artists and musicians offering a contemplative close to the Week of Peace, weaving together water, art and community as a prayer for harmony.

Rogue Valley artist Irene Kai was key player in bringing ACPC and the International Peace Flame to Ashland. 

The 75-year-old artist has been making art for over 50 years and has lived in Ashland for more than two decades. Kai is one of the supporters and artists included in the month-plus long “Visionary Art From The Heart” series of events wrapping up this week and will be at the 10th anniversary event for International Peace Day on Sunday, Sept. 21.

Kai painted several pieces for a show currently at the Langford Art Gallery, including a giant heart painted with acrylic on canvas called “Devotion.” For her, peace is a way of living.

“In 2018 we brought the world peace flame to Ashland and it was installed at the Pilgrim Pavilion at SOU campus,”  Kai said. “Our organization is absolutely focused on creating and practicing the culture of peace. The show’s theme is, ‘speak from our hearts.’ That is an intention for all artists here to express from their hearts what peace is about. Art is an emotional language that speaks to the audience in an intimate way.”

Kai says she and her partner, David Wick, celebrate the International Day of Peace every year. Wick is the co-founder of the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission and helped spearhead the creation of the International Day of Peace in 1981 at the United Nations. Several years later, the first major celebration was held in San Francisco in 1984. The couple has been a part of the event ever since. 

Kai says after 1984 International Peace Day became a global phenomenon.

Artists in Ashland and Phoenix teamed up for a month-long series of events leading up to the milestone 10th anniversary for the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission and the commemoration of International Peace Day. 

Phoenix on the move

Ashland as a city has been known for its art and culture scene, but Phoenix is looking to be a part of that legacy as well. 

The Phoenix Art and Culture Council organized “Visionary Art From the Heart” events leading up to International Peace Day.

A gallery showing at the Langford Art Gallery with local artists kicked off the series on Aug. 22 where people submitted artwork centered around the theme of peace and creating art from the heart.

Each artist wrote an impact statement that went along with their pieces explaining what peace means to them.

One of the featured artists, Abby Lazerow, has been drawing and painting for 40 years since she was a child. Her favorite medium is painting with acrylic and oil. 

“There’s something about the color that gives back, is reflective, and has a richness that no other medium does,” Lazerow said. 

Lazerow submitted an acrylic painting on canvas called “When it’s Quiet You Can Hear The Edges of Silence.” A major theme in her work is conflict and injustice. Through her paintings she hopes it will lead the viewer into thinking about a culture where these concerns and threats could be altogether absent, creating a more peaceful world. Her intention is to inspire feelings of calm, quiet and tranquility. Lazerow said once someone experiences these emotions within they radiate out from the heart into the world.

“We need to support peace in this world everyday when there are small conflicts, larger ones, and global ones. We need to find peace and centering and ways to get along so we can listen to each other even if we don’t agree,” Lazerow said. “Images can be so much more powerful than words or work in conjunction with statements. There are things color can convey words can not in creating a mood.”

Lazerow supports the theme of the show along with how other artists are bringing peace to this valley and grateful the Langford Art Gallery provided a space to showcase their positive collective of work. 

“Jack Langford has been amazing in offering his space for artists and letting it be a place for the community to gather,” Lazerow said. 

From acrylic, to clay, to stone, mixed media, and bronze were some of the mediums used in different artists’ work symbolizing their idea of peace.

Liza Hamilton submitted a bronze mythical creature statue and a ram’s face made entirely out of wool. The sculpture is called ‘Momentum’. “She’s the size of a large greyhound, sculpted in oil-based clay, cast in bronze using the lost wax process. To me, peace is beauty so I strive to make things that uplift the spirit and make you feel loved,” Hamilton said.

 “It makes you feel as though there are protectors that look out for us and I try to embody that, she’s this mythical beast that has antlers and hooves, but has the mane of a lion and forward facing eyes that allow you to look her in the eyes and feel this peaceful, powerful, stoic energy.” 

Hamilton lived in Ashland for 10 years and was active at the Ashland Arts Studio before it closed during the pandemic. She lives in Gold Beach now, but still participates in the vibrant art scene happening in Phoenix, Talent, Ashland. 

The youngest artist at the show, 17-year-old Hali’aka Locklear, submitted two collage pieces made out of mixed media paper elements creating a 3-D pop out art effect. Locklear is mixed race and wanted to showcase her native heritage in her work with one piece highlighting indigenous flowers from Hawaii and the other a silhouette of her face against the Somni native flag. Locklear said the Somni flag is often underrepresented as a cultural flag and is proud she could share her family heritage with others through her art.

Locklear shared her definition of peace is intertwined with finding her inner peace in accepting herself. “I had already been making these different cutouts of flags of the ethnicities that I am. I’ve always had the issues that come along with being a mixed kid not knowing where you’re going to be placed, not fitting in anywhere because you’re not enough for anybody,” Locklear said.

Locklear was making these flags to put up in her room celebrating her ethnic background and thought it would be a perfect piece for the gallery and show’s theme. “Over the years I have struggled with loving and embracing my mixed and cultural heritage that I have. It’s just so hard because you have all these voices telling you ‘you can’t do this,’ that you’re not fully this’, ‘you’re more than two cultures’. Being able to agree with it and be at peace with it and celebrate all my different cultures no matter how many I come from, acknowledging that’s a part of myself and loving it and having peace with it,” Locklear said.

Her collage piece of different flags, ‘What are you?’ is a silhouette Locklear took of herself painted on top of cut outs of different flags and peace flags. She primarily uses paper and hot glue, construction paper, or magazine paper she cuts out and hand paints creating dimensional art. 

Locklear says her whole family is mixed. Her Mom is of Swedish, Dutch, and Somni descent, and her Dad represents Puerto Rican, Filipino, and Pacific Islander cultures. 

Being in Southern Oregon, Locklear hasn’t met a lot of other mixed people and she feels like it’s an important message spreading awareness about being mixed race. “You have a place and part of loving yourself is accepting that you are mixed, love both sides of your culture. The title ‘What are you?’ is a question I get all the time. It’s not that simple of a question. It’s a hard thing to answer,” Locklear said.

For young artists who look up to Locklear she says to take pride in who you are and your culture. “Representation is powerful. The Hawaiian part of my culture is very important because we’re losing culture because the younger generations don’t feel like they can connect because they’re mixed. It’s important to raise awareness about your culture.”

Beca Blake is the Chair of Phoenix Art and Culture Council and works as an independent curator,  interdisciplinary artist, and community based artist. She became one of the key  organizers for the group art exhibition called “Visionary.” 

“Part of my work is that I curate independent themed art activations and sometimes those events combine with local nonprofits as part of an art activation. It is based on the concept of bringing community members from different groups within the community into a group conversation across generations so everyone is included,” Blake said.

Blake approached the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission and asked them to sponsor the ‘Visionary’ show, along with Kai. Merging visionary art and the culture of peace let artists participating communicate and envision from their hearts. Blake said all forms of art are forms of communication and the message of peace is a powerful sentiment. These artists are ambassadors of peace in Southern Oregon in her eyes. Blake considers the gallery space as a peace temple and hopes as people enter the exhibition the intention of peace will be felt. 

“This is significant for me also in representing Phoenix, because Phoenix is the heart of the valley. We’re really wanting to embrace that in a way, expressing our identity of who we are,” Blake said. Blake is excited about sharing the art and culture building in Phoenix.

Tzianna DellaRovere is one of the artists who will be a part of the Closing Water Ceremony. Blake told DellaRover about how 16 springs were revealed after the Almeda Fire. Robert Coffan, a water expert, found the springs and named this mile-long stretch of waterways the “Miracle Mile” and has mapped them out. 

The water ceremony is part of honoring the springs and bringing this peaceful intention to the land and ecosystem while also connecting people to the importance and beauty of nature through art and culture. Tiffany Coffan Wyatt is an artist bringing in samples of the spring waters and will be using them for water color art to be featured at the Sept. 26 Closing Water Ceremony.

Other organizers and sponsors of this art and culture series include the Oregon Arts Commission, Ashland Culture of Peace Commission, Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, Langford Art Gallery, and the Phoenix Art and Culture Council.

Journalist Kayla Heffner lives in Ashland. Email her at [email protected].