Washington, D.C. (Nov 24, 2025) – An exhibit featuring self-portraits and letters to future friends in other parts of the world from the Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Japan, United States of America, Ireland, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Republic of South Africa, Kingdom of Cambodia, and the Republic of Colombia is coming to Washington DC following a successful exhibition at the UN. The exhibit will be on display at the Henry Luce III Center for the Arts and Religion starting with an opening reception on December 4 from 4-6:30 PM.
“The Drawing Hope Project began as an art exchange between children in South and North Korea, divided by the peninsula’s separation. It has now grown into a space of exchange and solidarity among diverse local organizations around the world,” said Yunseon Kim, General Director at Okedongmu Children in Korea, one of the organizations that created the exhibit. “Through their drawings, children have reached beyond the walls built by adults, introducing themselves and initiating dialogue.”
This exhibit is made possible through a partnership between Okedongmu Children in Korea and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization founded in 1917 to promote peace and social justice. “As a Quaker organization, AFSC emphasizes the need for working across geographies to promote peace with justice,” said Jennifer Deibert, DPRK Program Director, AFSC. “The voices of the children continue to inspire us in this work to build hope for future generations through trans-local partnerships and solidarity.”
Rev. Woong-Sik (Timothy) Chon, Director of the Henry Luce III Center for the Arts & Religion
at Wesley Theological Seminary, sought to bring the exhibit to Washington, D.C. after seeing its impact at the UN. "I am deeply excited and grateful for the children and the dedicated peacemakers who are bringing Drawing Hope from New York to Washington, D.C.! Through calling, teaching, creating, and exhibiting the artwork of children, Drawing Hope opens a space for us to envision God’s Kin-dom — a glimpse of the New Heaven and New Earth grounded in peace, imagination, and hope."
The exhibit will be open to the public, with an opening reception and roundtable on December 4th from 4-6:30 PM moderated by organizers, with featured speakers from AFSC, OKCK, and the Center for the Arts and Religion.
What: Drawing Hope: Children’s Art for Peace opening reception
When: 4-6:30pm (EST)
Where: Henry Luce III Center for Arts and Religion, 4500 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC and online access to the program from 4:30-5:30pm.
Additional information about the roundtable and registration can be found here.
You can find more information about the exhibition here.
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The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions. We work with people and partners worldwide, of all faiths and backgrounds, to meet urgent community needs, challenge injustice, and build peace.
Some quotes from partner organizations:
"For us, Drawing Hope is more than an exhibit — it is a reflection of what we live every day at El Nido: a community where life is honored, dignity is restored, and new stories of peace take flight.” Leidy Johana Aguirre, Director of Proyecto El NIDO.
“This rare exhibit opens up our hearts and ears to attentively listen and dream with our children of an interconnected and peaceful world they long for. This is in line with the principle that the UN was founded - dialogue and engagement to create more durable peace in a world shattered by violence.” Sue Park-Hur, Co-Founder, ReconciliAsian.
“Since 2001, we have been holding a drawing exhibition of children in Japan and the Korean Peninsula. We dream that this exchange of drawings and messages will develop into actual meetings and interactions someday in the future. The children's drawings give us hope for peace.” Rev. Toshimasa Yamamoto, Chairperson, Friends of Northeast Asia Children's Art Exhibition Organizing Committee
“This exhibit comes as a pivotal moment. Last year, nations agreed to a Pact for the Future, and this year, as the UN turns 80, the UN community is taking a hard look at its role since its inception following the Second World War. Since 1945, the community of nations has worked diligently to strengthen opportunities for international cooperation, collaboration, and dialogue as a means to address the challenges facing communities and our planet. More recently, we have seen a few very powerful countries turn their backs on and, in some cases, actively undermine the principles of international law and the multilateral project. At a time when cooperation, collaboration, and dialogue are needed more than ever to bridge divides and solve collective problems, these actors are going back to earlier models and assumptions that relied on power, brute force, and exploitation. This exhibit provides us with a reminder, coming from young people themselves, of the importance of the UN’s original vision as a forum for dialogue, cooperation, and collective solutions.” Sarah Clarke, Director and UN Representative, Quaker UN Office
“The Cambodia Peace Gallery joined the Drawing Hope Network because we believe art is a profound medium for transforming conflict into hope. It allows our young people to heal, find their voice, and envision a peaceful future for Cambodia. This project is vital because it links their powerful stories with a global movement, empowering them to become active agents for positive change.” Cambodia Peace Gallery, Sam Arn THEA, Program Officer
“At El Nido, we believe that hope is born when love and dignity take root. We decided to join the Drawing Hope Network art exhibit because we see art as a language of healing — a way for every child and young person to express what words sometimes cannot. Our mission is to accompany and empower adolescent mothers to rediscover their value and purpose, and we know that hope and peace begin in the heart. Through this initiative, we want to celebrate the power of creativity to transform pain into beauty, isolation into connection, and dreams into possibilities. For us, Drawing Hope is more than an exhibit — it is a reflection of what we live every day at El Nido: a community where life is honored, dignity is restored, and new stories of peace take flight.” Leidy Johana Aguirre, Director, Proyecto El NIDO
“At Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), we are delighted to share the hopes, reflections and wishes of children and teens from around the world with people at the UN. We hope the exhibit will inspire world leaders to work together for a more just and peaceful world.” Rebecca Burkholder, MCC co-director of International Program.
"As the Edupaz Cali-Colombia Foundation, we are joining this beautiful art exhibition project; because the colors, pencils, and drawings presented here contain different expressions such as joy, wisdom, empathy, compassion, and imagination of children and adolescents as builders of peace in their educational communities and churches. Their strokes inspire us to dream of a world where it is dignified to live for everyone; What's more, many of those dreams are coming true because they are adding to the good practices of peaceful coexistence, friendship, respect for others, care for the environment, love, and the willingness to open our hands to give and share what we have. So, art and creativity come together to provide innovative and peaceful solutions to conflicts. That is why we share here the talent of these Colombian children and young people from the communities that we accompany at Edupaz. They are the ones who inspire us every day to keep moving forward and working hard in our contexts to continue sowing peace and hope and reaping life, even when there is pain." Martha Cortés, director of EDUPAZ
“The exhibition was born out of a global practice-sharing initiative, where participating organisations exchanged methods, ideas, and experiences from peace-building and trauma recovery work. Through workshops, dialogues, and collaborative projects, Drawing Hope became more than an art exhibition—it became a platform for international solidarity.” Donovan Gawley, Youth Project Officer, RCITY Youth CIC