"The purpose of art is to lay bare the questions that have been concealed by the answers." -James Baldwin
“If you want to end the war then Instead of sending guns, send books. Instead of sending tanks, send pens. Instead of sending soldiers, send teachers.” -Malala Yousafzai
Art–creative expression–offers powerful practices and tools for engaging across lines of conflict, for positive social change and social justice. You are invited to join this two-day, two-part Peace Cafe series in partnership with Seeds of Peace to dream up better ways for human beings to live together in conversation with internationally renowned artists, experienced scholars, and educators.
Event leaders include creative instigator Hanoch Piven, artist and activist Mira Awad, and educators with deep experience with conflict transformation, Meenakshi Chhabra, Deb Bicknell, and Daniel Noah Moses.
Event Leaders
Hanoch Piven
Piven is an award-winning illustrator, educator and seasoned creative instigator. Piven’s artwork is unique in both form and method. By reinventing the meaning and use of everyday objects he forges associations between these and the subject of his creation. Piven has lectured extensively about creativity and its applications to life in diverse platforms across the world. Amongst them are The Kennedy School of Government at Harvard Business School, Teach for All Global Conference, Duke University, The School of Visual Arts, China Academy of Fine Arts, Art Center of Design, Instituto Europeo di Design and many more.
Mira Awad
Awad is an Arab-Israeli Singer, Songwriter, Actress, TV Content Creator, Stage Performance Coach, Artist & Artivista. A multidisciplinary creator, she was born 1975 in Rameh village in the Galilee (Israel) to a Palestinian father and Bulgarian mother, currently living in Tel-Aviv. Through her art, Mira is a relentless activist, dedicated to promoting equality and human solidarity. In 2009, she represented Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest along with Israeli Jewish singer Achinoam Nini, singing There Must Be Another Way. She was the first Palestinian Israeli to represent Israel at Eurovision,[1] singing the first Israeli Eurovision song with Arabic lyrics.
Meenakshi Chhabra
Chhabra serves as an Associate Dean in the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences at Lesley University in Massachusetts. She has been a scholar-practitioner in the field of Peace and Conflict Studies for more than two decades and has been recognized as Fulbright scholar and Fulbright Specialist in the field. In addition to her teaching and research, Meenakshi is passionate about working in and with communities and in collaborative partnerships. She has been associated with the Seeds of Peace since 2001. She is a trainer with the Eastern Mennonite University's STAR Program (Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience) and is on the national team of the Center for Restorative Justice at the University of San Diego.
Deborah Bicknell
A Portland-Maine based global citizen with a wide heart, deep thoughts and big questions. She is a professional facilitator, curriculum and program designer and runs her own international consulting business with concentrations in creative facilitation, conflict transformation, leadership development, youth empowerment and advocacy, school and community engagement, multiculturalism and equity, multi-stakeholder change and organizational strategic systems thinking. Her work centers around truth, expression and evolution. Deborah helped to start an intergenerational youth advocacy organization in Maine and now works within a wide range of educational and community contexts. Some of her clients include Seeds of Peace International, American Councils/Kennedy-Lugar YES Program, Americans for the Arts, Saalam Institute for Peace and Justice, the Eurasia Foundation, AMP Global Youth, Illinois Global Scholars, Muskie School of Public Service and many other local, national and international organizations. She is a TED talk coach, youth mentor, wedding officiant and published writer and poet.
Daniel Noah Moses
Formerly a Lecturer on Social Studies at Harvard University, Moses is The Director of Educator Programs at Seeds of Peace. From 2000-2006, he worked in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. From 2006 to 2017 he lived in Jerusalem and worked with a broad range of educators and artists from The Middle East, South Asia, Europe, and The United States. He has taught at Al Quds University and for The Jewish Theological Seminary. Throughout the last twenty years, combining theory and practice, he has explored the power of art, along with its limitations. He currently lives in Troy, New York and has recently bought 14 acres of land in the Adirondack Mountains, part of a shift of focus to work in The United States--which he now views as a conflict zone.