monuments
The Art of Peace in Monumental Form
Monument 1 — Singapore
"Let There Be Peace"
In August 2005, something that had never been done before happened at the entrance of the Singapore Museum of Fine Art.
A painting became a monument.
Artist Alexandra Nechita — discovered at nine years old selling work from a used bookstore — stood alongside President Nathan of Singapore as her 11-foot sculpture “Let There Be Peace” was dedicated to the people of Asia.
Dignitaries from across the globe attended. Worldwide media covered it. Queen Elizabeth II later commissioned legal tender coins bearing Nechita’s work.
But the most important thing that happened in Singapore in 2005 wasn’t the ceremony, the coverage, or the coins.
Alexandra Nechita
Dedicated by President Nathan · Singapore, 2005
It was the proof. That a child’s vision given the right platform — could become a permanent symbol of hope for an entire continent.
Everything the Global Peace Initiative has built since began here.
The Original Painting
“Let There Be Peace” in glass below.
The Coins
In recognition of the Global Peace Initiative and Nechita’s commitment to the message of peace, Queen Elizabeth II commissioned a set of legal tender coins with a Nechita painting engraved on them entitled “Peace is the Only Option.”
monument 2 — liverpool
"The Lennon Monument"
On October 9th 2010 — what would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday — Julian and Cynthia Lennon stood in Liverpool, the city where four boys grew up and changed music forever, and dedicated the second Global Peace Initiative monument.
The Lennon Monument began as a painting by 17-year-old Lauren Voiers — a young artist who discovered her gift not in a classroom, but in the quiet hours of recovering from severe bipolar disorder.
Standing 18 feet tall, blending piano keys and guitar strings — Lennon’s twin instruments — the monument was a masterclass in what art can carry when it is built with purpose rather than decoration.
The BBC estimated global television coverage reached over 1.2 billion people. Peace, that day, had an audience.
“The Lennon Monument” · Lauren Voiers · Dedicated by Julian & Cynthia Lennon · Liverpool, 2010
monument 3 — ukraine
"The Ukrainian Monument"
When Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in early 2022, the Global Peace Initiative began searching the world for an artist who could create a monument worthy of the Ukrainian people’s resilience.
The search failed everywhere it looked.
Then, in a town of 686 people in southern Mexico, they found Osbelit Garcia Morales.
At eight years old, when other children played, Osbelit filled school notebooks with portraits so sophisticated they stopped people in the street. No galleries near her. No museums. No art supplies half the time — she painted on boards and flat stones, mixing colour from local dyes and chalk.
But the most important thing that happened in Singapore in 2005 wasn’t the ceremony, the coverage, or the coins.
In 2022, Ben Valenty offered her the commission. She accepted.
When the Ukrainian Monument was ready for unveiling in Spring 2023, the war was still raging — making installation in Ukraine impossible. In one of those moments that feels arranged by something larger than coincidence, Eurovision 2023 had been moved to Liverpool. The monument found its temporary home at Strawberry Field — the orphanage next to Lennon’s childhood house, now a museum — until peace makes it possible for it to stand on Ukrainian soil. It is waiting there still.
monument 4 — middle east (in progress)
"Destined for the Middle East"
The fourth Global Peace Initiative monument is unlike anything that has come before it.
Not because of its scale — though at 17 feet, it will be the most physically commanding monument in the series.
Not because of its location — though the Middle East carries a weight that few places on earth can match.
Zoya Eshwar — 12 years old, holder of two world records, recipient of 40+ international awards — designed a sculpture that will be cast from real missile casings. Weapons of destruction, transformed by the hands and vision of a child, into a permanent declaration that peace is not naive. It is necessary.
Designed by Zoya Eshwar
Monument IV in production
The monument is in production now. The factory images below show what no political summit, no ceasefire negotiation, no government communiqué has yet produced — something physical, something visible, something that will stand long after the people who built it are gone.
This is Monument IV. And it is being built right now.
Help Complete This Monument
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