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Wendy's life work, however, has not been limited to designing. Her second passion has been a lifelong dedication to working for peace on the local and national level. The founding of Artists for World Peace marks Wendy's dedication to working on the international level for world peace and unity. The International Peace Belt was the first major project undertaken by Artists for World Peace, Inc. In the summer of 2003, two of Wendy's jewelry apprentices and six of her advanced students assisted in the making of the belt, incorporating coins and gemstones from around the world into its design. The hope is to ultimately have coins and/or gemstones from all 191 countries present on the belt. Therefore, as the belt arrives in a country that is not represented, people are invited to add either a coin or stone from their part of the world. The coins were donated from people around the globe, the gems came from Wendy's own collection, and sterling silver was woven into the body of the belt in order to secure the gems and coins. In accordance with Wendy's vision, dancers, peace, keepers, and spiritual leaders from every country that the belt visits are asked to meditate on peace while performing in The International Peace Belt. It is intended that, through this act, the belt will become a living link between the cultures, a symbol for peace and unity binding the people of all nations as one. As the belt travels it is being caretaken by a specific person who is responsible for documenting their leg of the journey. Ultimately, the belt's complete travel from nation to nation will be documented in the form of a film as well as a book which will include photographs of each dancer who performed in the belt. Immediately after completion, the belt was taken to India for inclusion in the Golden Jubilee of World Peace and Harmony, honoring the 50th birthday of Amritanadamayi (AKA Ammachi), a well-known saint and guru from Southern India, where all 191 countries were represented in a peace event attended by over 150,000. From there it was danced in by the Classical Nrityragram dancers in India as well as an Israeli dance troupe present at the first fundraiser of Artists for World Peace, held in Cochin, India. Then, on December 28, 2003, S. Smith Patrick left for South Korea with the International Peace Belt. There, the belt was worn during a dance performance held at the prestigious Seoul Center for the Performing Arts. Since then the International Peace Belt has been caretaken to thirteen countries on three continents and has been worn in performances as well as peace and spiritual activities. During the summer of 2005, The International Peace Belt was on a peace mission to the Middle East-being worn by both Palestinians as well as Israelis. All proceeds generated by the organization's many performances and fund raisers benefit the travel of The International Peace Belt as well as peace organizations around the world that work with children. Every year, Artists for World Peace holds its Food and Clothing Drive, bringing warm clothing, blankets, and food to The Rose Bud Reservation in South Dakota, bringing clothing to the people of Haiti, as well as food to a local food pantry in Connecticut. The drive begins in October and runs through the first week of December. Artists for World Peace has embarked on a long journey with a grand vision, but one dancer at a time, one performance at a time, and one project at a time, we are building towards our ultimate goal of international peace and unity.
Birth of the Belt The idea began with a telephone call. Bill Daly, a reporter for The Hartford Courant, called several Connecticut artists to ask us how we would incorporate European currency into our artwork now that it had been taken out of circulation and replaced with the Euro. (Our ideas resulted in an article published in the January 1, 2002 issue of The Hartford Courant, page D1. After the completion of The Peace Belt, a follow up article was published in the Hartford Courant on September 17, 2003, page B3). A week earlier one of my students, Celeste Bellinghieri, was giving her premier belly dance performance. I canceled our Wednesday night jewelry class so we could all go to support her first public dance. While watching all the wonderful dancers from around New England, I was mesmerized by the belts they wore. They looked and sounded exquisite. When Mr. Daly posed the question I instantly thought of all the European coins and how interesting it would be to incorporate them, along with coins from all over the world into a belt, symbolizing the coming together of all the nations, all the people, dancers, artists, peace leaders, tribal people… into an international belt of peace. The idea was born, and in the summer of 2003 two of my apprentices, Katie Rosenblatt and Margaret Sola, and I wove the sterling silver belt and added not only the coins from 75 countries, but also the gem stones that are mined in 100 countries. My hope is that the belt will travel the world and will be transformed as it goes. Not only by the energy of all those who wear it, but also by the addition of coins and stones that I am inviting people to add if they see that their country is not represented. Periodically I will have the belt returned to my studio so I will be able to add these pieces that are sent along. The belt was completed the first week of September 2003. It left on its first journey to Southern India on September 15. Caretakers will accompany the belt as it circles the globe. The first caretakers are Sara Rachel Morgues and Meghein Uhrich, world travelers and fellow peace walkers. They are documenting the voyage through film, photographs, and their writing. I only request that each dancer pray for world peace while wearing the belt. Eventually we will put together a book on The International Peace Belt. All proceeds from our many peace projects will be donated to peace organizations around the world. With these donations we will help both small grass roots organizations as well as larger ones in their pursuit of peace. Our goal is to feed the hungry, house the poor, and make our planet a better place for all of us, through the arts as well as working together as one family. In Peace, |
Wendy Black-Nasta, designer of The International Peace Belt and Founder of Artists for World Peace, Inc., has been a jewelry designer for museums, galleries, and stores around the world since 1977, including The Museum of Natural History, The Cooper-Hewitt Museum, The Brooklyn Museum, The Jewish Museum, and The American Folk Art Museum, all of New York City, as well as The Boston Museum of Science. Also, Wendy's work has been sold through Sak's Fifth Ave., Macy's, I. Magnin, and Jacobson's department stores.
