Peacebuilding Students' Painting on Display at Mandell JCC's "Under One Roof" Exhibition

Students in the 2026–27 cohort collaborated to create the “Ascending Dove,” a work representing their diverse countries, cultures, identities, and faith traditions. The piece is now on display at the Mandell Jewish Community Center’s “Under One Roof” exhibition through Jan. 3, 2027.

With about 10 students contributing ideas, reaching a shared vision required careful listening. The group began by creating a Pinterest board where students could contribute images, colors, symbols, and culturally significant patterns they hoped to incorporate. Rather than reproducing individual ideas exactly, the students sought to understand what each person valued about their suggestions and find ways to represent those elements within the larger work.

The process became an exercise in peacebuilding. When students presented different ideas, they practiced mediation techniques learned in their coursework, including active listening, identifying underlying values, and finding areas where agreement was possible.

Instead of attempting to settle every detail at once, the group reached consensus in stages. They first agreed on the painting’s broader structure and gradually worked through decisions about its quotes, patterns, symbols, colors, and central dove.

That collaborative process is reflected throughout the finished piece. Its outer frame contains quotations about peace from Christian, Baha’i, Jewish, and Islamic traditions. The middle frame, inspired by Pishtaq architectural gateways found in Islamic mosques, incorporates patterns and symbols representing members of the cohort, including Indonesian batik, Ghanaian Kente, Middle Eastern paisley, and Jewish imagery.

At its center is the ascending dove, surrounded by hands reaching inward. According to the students’ artist statement, the dove represents “peace, hope, transformation, freedom, and spiritual connection,” while the hands form a circle of connection, symbolizing that peace is a collective effort.

Students contributed according to their interests and abilities, painting, selecting patterns and quotations, tracing their hands, or helping shape the overall concept. Even a request to incorporate “bling” found its way into the finished work through metallic glitter markers.

Chaplain Aida Mansoor, the professor who assigned the project, reportedly liked the work and hopes to turn it into postcards. The students plan to retrieve the painting once the exhibition has concluded.

The Mandell Jewish Community’s “Under One Roof” exhibition is free and open to the community during open hours. Learn more.