How We Are Making Peace, Hope, and Change in Rogers Park

"Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding." 
- Albert Einstein

Peace

"What does the image mean?  In abandoned places, it may remind us of potentiality in unused land, of coming fruitfulness, in chaos and violence, of peacefulness and calm.  It will mean different things, depending on where it is found (and on who has found it).  But together, these images have the potential unlock new paths of peace and open new dialogue for understanding." - To read more, visit the Ten Thousand Ripples Blog Page here.

Hope

 Ten Thousand Ripples is not your average community outreach program. It is an art installation facilitating peace and interfaith dialogue in a diverse, urban, violence-prone neighborhood. In fact, Roger's Park is one of the most culturally and economically diverse neighborhoods in the nation¹ and home to Loyola University Chicago, the nation's largest Jesuit university. 

 Change 

The problem that Ten Thousand Ripples seeks to address is the violence, but in a rather passive and  unexpected way. Ten Thousand  Ripples understands violence as a community problem, and we hope to created moments of reflection for the community. By installing the images in unexpected public areas we aim to catch the community by surprise. We hope to break the monotony of the daily commute from point A to point B. The uncluttered serene white fiberglass statues easily stand out against the urban backdrop of Roger's Park.  The careful placement of the images has engaged small business like The Common Cup and Heartland cafe, nonprofit groups like Housing Opportunities For Women, Partners for Rogers Park and larger organizations like LEEDA services of Illinois and Loyola University Chicago.  

¹ http://rogerspark.com/rp/about/

Photo credits top to bottom:

1. John Lamping   2. Rachel Roesner 3. Beatrice Alleyne