'The Peace Ribbon’ project was initiated by Justine Merritt who envisioned it ‘as segments of fabric sewn together, with each segment being a symbol of what we cannot bear to think of as lost forever in nuclear war’. The Ribbon was originally created to be tied around the Pentagon in August of 1985 on the anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Beginning with Merritt and a few supporters, the movement grew to involve thousands of supporters from the US and beyond, amassing tens of thousands of banners.
Thalia Campbell, who was then an activist in the group Women for Life of Earth based in Borth, brought 150 of these banners to the UK. The banners were used to advocate for international peace across the UK and were displayed in the Houses of Parliament, as well as Aberystwth’s King’s Hall.
In bringing these pieces back on display in Aberystwyth we hope to continue to echo the messages of peace and cooperation put forward in The Peace Ribbon.
The five chosen pieces are examples of the wide range of different styles, techniques, materials and ideas used in the peace ribbon:
-“I dream of giving birth,” Demi Berkey and Ann Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota
-“Fish,” Sharon Scramstad Merrell, Anchorage, Alaska
-“Flower children,” Freeman, Chino Valley, Arizona
-“They are precious,” Donna Strauss, Salem, Oregon
-“Life,” Jo Pate, Wales (replica of Alice Siegfried’s original piece made in New York)
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