Description
The New York Peace Coalition is a wholly owned subsidiary of Adopt-A-Friend. Peace December is an initiative of The New York Peace Coalition that started as an interfaith response to the disturbing high levels of violence in New York, and later became worldwide.
This initiative was born out of the need to lower the crime and violence that takes place in New York City every year and to herald a call for peace, respect and responsibility. With proclamations from the governor, the mayor and series of endorsements from elected officials, government agencies, the clergy and community leaders, the momentum to celebrate December as a peace month is galvanizing diverse communities from across New York City to partner in the process. The objective for our organization is to see all creatures live a symbiotically peaceful coexistence.
The New York Peace Coalition partnership is an embodiment of governmental and nongovernmental organizations and initiatives that include Adopt-A-Friend, Bronx Clergy Task Force, NAACP Parkchester Branch, New York Center For Conflict Dialogue, LaCrown Initiatives- It Takes A Village Inc, African Union Day Foundation, Latin America-Muslim Women Organization, Islamic Leadership School, St Ann Anti Violence Program, Vishnu Mandir Hindu Temple, The Garifuna Community, The Mayor and the Bronx Borough President Offices, Bronx District Attorney, NYS State Senator Ruth Hassell- Thompson, Kuki Ndiho Rwanda Orphans Support Project, DYCD, NYC Parks and JCRC-Cause-NY, Islamic Cultural Center of North America, just to name a few.
"Peace Lights" has been adopted by the NY Peace Coalition and the peace organizations of 14 countries as the international symbol of Peace & Non-violence.
The "Peace Lights" vision is to unite and provide support and solidarity for disparate
efforts aimed in the common direction of peace. It is also hoped that the art and
technology aspect of the visual presentation can open up additional avenues of sharing,
discussion, engagement, and inspiration.
Peter Rogina and Eileen Cohen have worked together with the NY Peace Coalition as
part of the Peace December Opening Ceremony, Music Peace Marathon, and Awards
event. In the last year, Rogina and Cohen have had several noteworthy installations in
NYC including projections onto the famed Cotton Club in Harlem, installations on
Governors Island, at the TEDxCUNY event, and as featured artists at the opening
ceremonies for NYC Light 2015, an event directly linked with the United Nations
International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies
Peace Lights" was born from another piece called "Drapes", which was originally shown at the Opening Ceremonies for NYC Light 2015. This event was part of the United Nations International Year of Light and Light-base Technologies. The following month, Drapes was shown at the New York Peace Coalition Awards Dinner where the first idea for Peace Lights was conceived. The original light images were used to re-produced a more refined version with titles and the words "Peace Lights" displayed in 55 languages. A shorter 3 minute version (with just the title in English) was also produced along with some still images.
