Eyes Wide Open
Eyes — and Hearts — Wide Open
When nine Friends in Norman, Oklahoma, took on the challenge of sponsoring an Eyes Wide Open exhibit at Oklahoma University, it opened their eyes – to the possibility of turning their worship group into a full-fledged meeting.
“The display did not bond us,” says Jim Warram, one of the Friends. “It revealed that we were already bonded.”
As a group, Warram says, “We were very conscious that we were not visible to people curious about Quakers or to newcomers to town.” The Fletchers suggested the Eyes Wide Open exhibit could increase their visibility, and the group agreed.
A phone call to the American Friends Service Committee revealed that the boots were in Amarillo, Texas , waiting for the next sponsor to pick them up and advance them on their journey back to Chicago.
“We were that sponsor,” Warram
recalls.
The small group set up
the display before dawn, manned it all day, and
dismantled it after the evening candlelight
ceremony. It was challenging, but
everyone did something.
<“We felt we had started something,” Warram says. “Now, we had to follow through, and continuing indefinitely as a worship group did not seem adequate. For example, if we ask to meet with a University official or our congressman, do we want to state we represent a worship group – or a Meeting?”
The group, which now numbers 10, received Preparative Meeting status in 2008 from the Oklahoma City Friends Meeting and is in the process of deciding on a date for moving to Monthly Meeting status.
“Currently, we meet in the Episcopal Student Center. In the past we have met in a variety of places, such as a room in the United Ministries building or the waiting room of dentist’s office,” Warram says. “The Spirit is anywhere you seek it.”
Exhibition Report: The First Year
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Since the Eyes Wide Open and Cost of War exhibits embarked on their tour around the nation in June 2007, the exhibits have been shown in 44 states. The results have been remarkable as the message of the human cost of war has expanded to an ever wider audience.
Download the full report (PDF, 2.7MB)
Eyes Wide Open College Organizing Kit
Our free kit offers tips on organizing an Eyes Wide Open event on campus, getting the community involved, and getting media coverage.
Download the kit (4 PDFs)
Eyes Wide Open Newsletter
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Read the latest news on the Eyes Wide Open
National Tour and State exhibits and The Cost
of War exhibits. 
Eyes Wide Open State Exhibits
Working with AFSC offices, Quaker meetings
and peace groups across the country, the Eyes
Wide Open state exhibits feature the boots of
the soldiers from their home states in addition
to a memorial to the Iraqi civilian casualties.
LINK TV Features Eyes Wide Open Documentary
Tune in for the new documentary Eyes Wide
Open, airing on LINK TV, satellite television,
all round the country.
Dreams and Nightmares
An Exhibit on Life and Death in Iraq
Dreams and Nightmares is a memorial to
Iraqis who have lost their lives in the war and
occupation. With photographs, names and
personal stories, it conveys the unseen side of
the war in Iraq — the tragedy being experienced
by everyday Iraqis. Careful estimates put Iraqi
deaths at more than 655,000 — most of them
civilians. .
Features "Eyes Wide Open" Boots
AFSC’s Eyes Wide Open exhibit is featured in
the blues musician Robert Cray’s new music
video. The song, “Twenty,” from Cray’s
Grammy-nominated album of the same name,
commemorates the soldiers whose lives are “used
up” by the Iraq war.