A Global Chorus Calling for Peace

The Nobel Peace Center in Oslo and Japan Institute of Portland Japanese Garden, together with public gardens around the world, present the installation: SPREAD PEACE: Wish Tree by Yoko Ono.

This weekend, theWish Tree will show simultaneously at Portland Japanese Garden in the U.S., Keihanna Commemorative Garden in Japan, Kokoro no Niwa in Chile, Johannesburg Botanical Gardens in South Africa and Eidsvoll’s square in Oslo, Norway. The collaboration expands on the YOKO ONO: PEACE is POWER exhibition currently showing at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway.

In Oslo, Yoko Ono’s peace messages will be adorning the main street Karl Johan from Friday 7 June. The same day, between 11:00 and 14:00 CET, SPREAD PEACE: Wish Tree by Yoko Ono will be displayed at Eidsvoll’s square, outside the Norwegian Parliament, for passers-by to take part in the global activation. In the other gardens across the world, the Wish Tree will be available to visitors throughout the weekend.

Two million wishes for peace

Yoko Ono’s interactive artwork Wish Tree invites guests to reflect and write their wishes for peace, which then get tied to the tree’s branches. Over time, the Wish Trees become adorned with these hopeful missives, evolving into a visual representation of the community’s collective aspirations for peace in our time. This interactive art, created by Ono in 1996, has collected more than 2 million wishes from visitors worldwide. After the installations conclude, the wishes will be returned to Ono and continue in connection with the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER in Reykjavík, Iceland.

Acclaimed artist and peace advocate, Yoko Ono’s artistic contributions have continued since the early 1960s. Her creative practice explores themes of love, non-violence, and human connection and is characterized by its emphasis on participatory work. Ono’s art invites visitors to engage in completing the artwork. Activating introspection, imagination, and connection, this participatory process can serve as a catalyst for personal and social transformation.

Hope for peace

"For Yoko Ono, the message of peace and art go hand in hand", said Kjersti Fløgstad, Executive Director at Nobel Peace Center. “In her creative universe, people can explore their own hopes and wishes for a more peaceful world – and hope is something we really need in the time we live in.”

Portland Japanese Garden and Japan Institute said it is honored to partner with some of the finest gardens globally, the Nobel Peace Center, and Yoko Ono’s studio in this meaningful endeavor that demonstrates how the call for peace is understood universally, although it may be expressed in many different forms.

"The Wish Tree is a suitable artistic representation of what we stand for – the human connection with nature, art, peace and others", said Steve Bloom, CEO of Portland Japanese Garden & Japan Institute.