Youth Art Exhibition 2000

The Commission, in association with ODE, is sponsoring an art exhibition for the year 2000, Celebrating the United Nation's Decade of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World. The Commission and ODE support the movement toward creating a culture of nonviolence by teaching conflict management skills in Ohio's schools. Currently over 1,200 schools in Ohio have conflict management and peer mediation programs.

Nonviolence and effective conflict management can be taught through many different methods including art. In celebration of the United Nation's General Assembly Resolution proclaiming the year 2000 to be the "Year for the Culture of Peace" and the years 2001-2010 to be the "International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World," the Commission and ODE invite art instructors and other school faculty to work with their students to create artwork in various mediums around the theme of peace and nonviolence. Artwork will be submitted regionally. Submissions are due May 6, 2000.

Throughout this site you will see examples of art that promote the theme of peace and nonviolence. Peace is represented by many different symbols and forms in different cultures such as the Japanese tea ceremony, or a pastoral scene in the rural U.S. When submitting artwork, the Commission and ODE encourage young people to use their imaginations to examine what a culture of peace would look like in their homes, schools, communities, state, or throughout the world.

For more information on the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management, please visit our Web site at www.disputeresolution.ohio.gov/ . For more information about the UN Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World, please visit the following Web site: www.un.org

To: Ohio Art Instructors
From: Karen P. Heath, Interim Director, Student Development Division
State of Ohio Department of Education

The Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management and the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) provide services and resources to Ohio schools and communities interested in implementing comprehensive conflict management programs. Please see School Conflict Management Services and Resources for further information.

On behalf of the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management and ODE, we invite you and your students to participate in Conflict Management Week, May 1 - 7, 2000. This is a yearly event to recognize and highlight conflict management activities in schools, courts, and communities throughout Ohio. As part of this week, the Commission and ODE are inviting students K-12 to submit artwork by May 6 for Exhibition 2000, Youth Art Celebrating Peace and Nonviolence for Children. Exhibition 2000 will include artwork from Ohio students as well as students in Northern Ireland, Slovakia and Norway. The Exhibition will be displayed in Columbus, July 9-28, 2000. In addition to Conflict Management Week, this Exhibition will help celebrate the United Nation's Decade of Peace and Nonviolence for Children of the World.

We look forward to an exciting year, celebrating a culture of peace and effective conflict management through student achievement in the arts. For more information, please call Jennifer Batton, Director of School Programs at (614) 752-9595.

Top right: "Cranes" Jerid Bartow, Newark High School Left: "Resolution Over Tea" Raku Teapot, Jeremy Bonner, Westland High School Bottom right: "Country Side" Micinda Evans, East Knox High School