Bus-Sized Nonviolence: How MK Gandhi Institute Plastered Giant Nonviolence Ads On Public Transit
w/ Gwen Olton from the MK Gandhi Institute & Nonviolent Rochester, NY
This event is FREE and open to everyone. Join us!
Why hold a sign when you can make a GIANT billboard? Or, better yet, stick it on the side of a bus and roll it around town! The M.K. Gandhi Institute in Rochester, NY, launched a successful program to plaster nonviolence-promoting advertisements on the sides of city buses. This project (Nonviolence Now) was so appreciated by transit riders, drivers, city council members, community members, and more, that the project was invited to design a second set of ads. In this 1-hr presentation, come hear the story of how this happened. Learn how the design team used both bold statements for nonviolence and “stealth” wording to encourage nonviolent behaviors in unlikely suspects. Find out how the bus ads grew out of digital ads to disrupt violence in online spaces, and led to billboards and yard signs in a widespread effort to promote nonviolence. Discover how the MK Gandhi Institute is hoping to support people like YOU in bringing these ads to their local communities. This webinar will be fun and lively, with lots of time for your questions and comments. We hope you will join us for this great example of how we can advocate for nonviolence in creative ways in our communities.
Everyone is welcome at this webinar. Our Campaign Nonviolence and Nonviolent Cities organizers and steering committee members are especially encouraged to attend.
Presenters
Gwen Olton is the Interim Executive Director of the M.K. Gandhi Institute and the coordinator of Nonviolent Rochester, our newest Nonviolent City! Gwen is a lifelong student of nonviolence and brings her unique background in mental health nursing and conflict transformation to her work at the Institute. She is an Appreciative Inquiry facilitator, member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers, restorative process facilitator, transformative mediator, and an Apprentice Provider with the Nonviolent Global Liberation Community. Gwen studied philosophy (as well as geological sciences) at the University of Rochester, nursing at St. John Fisher College, and obtained a master’s in peace and conflict resolution from Arcadia University. She has a book on conflict transformation scheduled for publication in the Spring of 2022.
Judy Livingston is an Associate Professor of Design at Alfred University and principal of Good Work Good Cause design studio. Judy is dedicated to the strategic and creative power of design as a catalyst for positive societal change. She brings to every project the vast experience, management, and leadership skills gained by working with commercial enterprises, cultural institutions, and nonprofit organizations. Judy’s education includes a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Michigan, graduate study abroad at Kyoto Seiko, workshops at the Basel School of Design (Switzerland) and at the Vignelli Center for Design Studies (Rochester, NY), and continuing, non-degree studies at the College for Creative Studies (Detroit, MI). Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including the Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Gallery IANG in South Korea, and the Rotonda della Besana in Milan, Italy.