CooperAction: Handkerchiefs of Peace
CooperAction is a No Profit Italian association founded in 2008 to promote the culture of peace and the public, economical and organizational care to enhance the protection of human rights and improve the living conditions of people in countries and areas affected by grave social, economic, political and cultural crisis.
The Handkerchiefs of Peace project, developed by CooperAction NGO, involves children from orphanages run by AFCECO and the women of OPAWC in Afghanistan-Kabul.
The idea of the project is to use art as way to self-expression and communication for the suffering endured by these communities. Firstly the children and the women drew their thoughts, stories and dreams, before a selection were reproduced in 30cm x 40cm embroidered handkerchiefs by the women of the vocational training centre.
The Handkerchiefs of Peace have been exhibited in many events including the international Sartirana Textile Show, EXPO2015 in Milan and the Contemporary and Modern Art Museum of Trento and Roveret (MART) for a year. It has also been published in the 'Calpestare la Guerra' and 'La Guerra che verrà non è la prima' catalogues by MART Museum.