A Talk with "Art For Peace" Winner Haruka Shoji

In time for the launching of our "Peace Art Journey" Exhibit at the Former Bank of Japan in Hiroshima (Now Open!) and our Peace Concert in Hiroshima, we talked with Haruka Shoji, the first place winner for our Art For Peace Contest back in 2012. Haruka's work, "Someday," will be on display during the exhibit, along with 11 other works by peace-minded children around the world.

Check out the inspiration behind "Someday"

"Maybe it is your child, or your grandchild, or much more later one who says bye to nuclear weapons. Or, maybe, it's you."

What got you into art, when did you start?

I loved art ever since I had crayons in my hand. My parents probably bought them for me. So I learned to draw before I learned the word “art.”

What was the inspiration behind your artwork for the 2012 Art For Peace Contest?

At the time I was planning what to draw, I found the sky I see from a second floor of my house beautiful. In the evening, through the black-framed window, I could see the sky painted in rainbow colors and the trees becoming silhouettes by the bright sky. Until then, I've thought the evening sky as orange, but I found out that there are a whole lot of colors in it. I decided to draw this discovery in my work. 

  

The girl is a symbol of observers' descendant. She is a powerless girl; she has no weapon, and she can't run with such a dress on. She possibly won't survive a war, and thus, she is also a symbol of a innocent victim of war. 

If you wish her a happy life, then you have to make "someday" [a world free of nuclear weapons] closer for this scene become true.

What is your own definition of peace?

That I can eat, drink, work, laugh, and sleep without fear.

How can art share or send a message?

I believe that art does not send a message to anybody, but wakes up something in the beholder. Anything that people feel looking at an artwork is intrinsic. If you feel anger, an anger is inside you. If you feel sadness, you must be grieving over something. Art is a mirror to look into yourself. 

Have you continued you draw or create art after the contest?

Yes. I want to create even more work.

What’s next for you?

I am hoping to travel around the world and observe more things I've never seen.

 October 23, 2012 - Haruka Shoji, First Prize Winner of the Art For Peace worldwide contest was honored by the Harmony For Peace and the United Nations for her artwork "Someday."

We hope Haruka never stops channeling her artistic talent into peace-making, and as she travels worldwide, may she always remember that the desire for peace is universal. 

Let us Sing, Play, Draw, Paint our way to Peace.