This year, the world marked the 79th anniversary of the nuclear bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
To honor the tragic events and shed light on the threat of the nuclear arms race, artists and cultural icons such as Yoko Ono, Paris Jackson, Alok Vaid-Menon, and more, took part in a global arts demonstration: #CranesForOurFuture.
Incorporating origami cranes in fashion designs, social media posts, and even wheat-pasted posters in busy city streets, activists called for a future without nuclear weapons.
The project is part of a larger initiative by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Prefectures, The Nuclear Threat Initiative, and The Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace.
It’s all inspired by the story of Sadako Sasaki, a girl who survived the bombing of Hiroshima when she was just 2 years old.
Sasaki unfortunately died due to the long-term effects of radiation poisoning a decade later, but during her short time on earth, she found solace in the centuries-old Japanese tradition of folding paper cranes, wishing on each folded wing that she might live.
Before her death, Sasaki and her friends folded 1,300 paper cranes, which became a universal symbol for peace, hope, and resilience. They also become the small but mighty symbol for nuclear disarmament.
Although NTI has been doing this work for decades, Cranes For Our Future is a newer iteration, developed in 2021.
Utilizing social media and public art, these efforts have been supported by major cultural figures, global security leaders, and current and former U.S. representatives alike.
This year’s fashion design element included a dress by Olivia Cheng, the creator of label Dauphinette. The dress contained 300 itty-bitty paper cranes quilted within panels of recycled vinyl.
“It represents a type of beauty that none of us have lived within our lifetimes,” Cheng said in an interview with NTI.
“We’ve created a world where life could be so vastly affected by a tangible object like nuclear weapons. We’ve already gotten rid of so many nuclear weapons, and yet, the risk has not diminished significantly.”
It’s true; today, 13,000 nuclear weapons are owned by just nine countries, with some being 80 times more powerful than the ones originally created and deployed by the U.S. in 1945.
With ongoing global conflict and the complexities of modern technology, advocates say humanity is one mistake away from a disaster that could change everything.
“It doesn’t need to be this way,” former U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest J. Moniz said in a statement. Moniz is now the co-chair and CEO of NTI.
“A single girl inspired a global movement with her story and the symbol of the paper crane. And when the last nuclear arms race was spinning out of control, people joined forces to call for a safer world, leading to the elimination of 80% of global nuclear arsenals,” Moniz continued.
“We can finish the job.”
A version of this article was originally published in The 2024 Art Edition of the Goodnewspaper. Get your own Goodnewspaper by becoming a good news subscriber today.
Header image courtesy of Yuu Khoang/Unsplash
