Brushstrokes for Peace: Art, Memory, and the Movement to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
Monday, May 4 | Conference Room E, UNHQ
Co-hosted with Thailand, Kiribati, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, and Reverse the Trend
We marked the 30th anniversary of the Treaty of Bangkok at a lunchtime side event showcasing youth and contemporary art reflecting the human legacy of nuclear weapons and affirming the urgent vision of a world free from them. The exhibit featured work by Kei Ito, the grandson of a Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor, and remained on display throughout the NPT Review Conference.
On May 4, 2026, Thailand, Kiribati, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and its youth initiative, Reverse the Trend, convened a side event titled “Brushstroke for Peace” to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Treaty of Bangkok, which established the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (NWFZ). Combining diplomatic remarks with artistic performance and youth exhibitions, the event situated the Treaty of Bangkok within a broader constellation of nuclear weapon-free zone anniversaries and emphasized the role of art and intergenerational testimony in advancing nuclear disarmament.
Speakers included Ambassador Cherdchai Chaivaivid of Thailand; Josephine Moote, Chargé d’affaires of Kiribati; Ambassador Tomiko Ichikawa of Japan; Risa Pieters, Deputy Director of Global Programs and Asia-Pacific Lead at the Obama Foundation; multimedia artist Kei Ito of the Maryland Institute College of Art; NAPF-RTT Youth-Representative Machi Sakurai; Veronique Christory, Senior Arms Advisor of the International Committee of the Red Cross Delegation to the UN; and Zhangeldy Syrymbet, Deputy Head of Europe for Kazakhstan.
The following report is authored by Machi Sakurai, youth delegate of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and its youth initiative, Reverse the Trend.
Ambassador Cherdchai Chaivaivid of Thailand opened the event by discussing the anniversary of the Treaty of Bangkok and the importance of voices from the NWFZs. He stressed that the impact of nuclear weapons is intergenerational and reaffirmed the Treaty of Bangkok as a strong foundation demonstrating the region’s commitment to global peace. Describing artistic expression as a means of crossing borders, he characterized the exhibitions as an important reminder of the human dimension of the NPT. In this spirit, he highlighted the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)’s Youth Leader Fund as a concrete vehicle for sustaining young people’s engagement in disarmament and non-proliferation efforts, ensuring that their voices continue to shape discourse beyond individual events.
Josephine Moote, Chargé d’affaires of Kiribati, marked the thirtieth anniversary of the Treaty of Bangkok alongside the South Pacific’s NWFZ, framing the event’s purpose as carrying memory where words alone cannot. She described the transformation of memory into shared responsibility, emphasizing the imperative of preserving the stories of survivors as an act of solidarity. She noted Kiribati’s firm support for nuclear disarmament and praised the UNODA Youth Leader Fund, which is generously supported by Japan, as a vehicle for engaging the next generation. She closed by saying that what is held in common is stronger than what divides communities.
Ambassador Tomiko Ichikawa of Japan recalled the recent cross-regional joint statement on disarmament and non-proliferation education, and emphasized the role of young people in carrying forward the message of “never again”. She expressed appreciation for the Youth Leader Fund and reported that of the roughly one hundred participants in the program’s first cohort, forty-nine had been hosted in Japan for visits to Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and other sites. She confirmed that the second cohort is currently in progress and underscored Japan’s continued support for engaging youth as stewards of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
Risa Pieters drew on her own background as half-Japanese, half-South African to discuss memory preservation. Reflecting on post-apartheid South Africa, she invoked the principle of “forgive but not forget” as a model for how societies can confront historical injustice without erasing it. She spoke of the power of a single story, noting that the nuclear narrative extends well beyond Japan and is increasingly captured through literature, citing Julian Aguon’s No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies. Some stories, she argued, cannot be captured in groups, which is why fellowship programs that convene people to learn from one another remain essential. She closed by warning of the emerging risks posed by the convergence of artificial intelligence and autonomous weapons with nuclear systems.
In a video statement, Kei Ito presented his work exploring intergenerational nuclear trauma from the perspective of a third-generation hibakusha. His chromogenic photogram prints—visually abstract yet rooted in the experiences of those affected by nuclear violence—incorporate the testimonies of downwinders in the United States exposed to the more than one thousand nuclear tests conducted in Nevada. He described his Sungazing Scroll, in which sunlight serves as light source, breath as exposure time, and the number one hundred and eight as a ritualistic act of redemption. He further highlighted his piece, “The Eye Who Witnessed,” which is currently being exhibited at the UN. In this piece, half of the eyes depicted in the prints belong to downwinders and half to hibakusha, mixed intentionally to evoke a global sense of nuclear trauma and to create dialogue across affected communities. He noted that the marks created during processing cannot be undone, mirroring how the scars of nuclear violence cannot be erased.
Machi Sakurai reflected on how drama and the arts can foster dialogue on nuclear issues. He described the inherited question of whether new generations can carry survivor memories forward “just as the witnesses are leaving us,” and underscored the role of social media and the stage as underutilized platforms for transmitting testimony to younger audiences. His goal, he said, was to make the unspeakable speakable and to place these narratives where young people will actually encounter them. Turning to the Treaty of Bangkok, he observed that its protocols have still not been signed by the nuclear-armed states and that the thirtieth anniversary should be regarded as a checkpoint rather than a victory; progress on disarmament, he argued, has historically been driven not by nuclear-armed states but by smaller communities and non-nuclear-armed states. He closed with three appeals: to diplomats, to bring young people into the rooms; to artists, to force people to see; and to Generation Z, to recognize that memory is not self-sustaining.
Veronique Christory addressed the protection of cultural property under international humanitarian law, including artistic and scientific institutions, on the basis of their civilian character. She underlined the role of photography and other artistic media in documenting suffering during armed conflict and in sharing the experiences of victims. She referenced an ongoing theatrical work on nuclear disarmament by a UK playwright as an example of art contributing to the disarmament conversation in a different register and offered a stark summary: if nuclear weapons continue to exist, humanity will not. She closed with the observation that where there is culture, there is peace.
Zhangeldy Syrymbet emphasized that every voice matters and that nuclear issues are the responsibility of all human beings. He linked the thirtieth anniversary of the Treaty of Bangkok to the twentieth anniversary of the Central Asian NWFZ and called for the inclusion of NWFZs in the outcome document of the current NPT Review Conference. Drawing parallels between Southeast Asian and Kazakh experiences, he described the suffering of Kazakhstan’s own downwinders, including reproductive and intergenerational disease, noting that the full set of stories from those affected would not fit in the UN General Assembly Hall. On the policy side, he highlighted the President of Kazakhstan’s initiative to elevate young people into senior public roles, including ministerial and managerial appointments, as part of a broader push to expand education storytelling on nuclear issues. Likening the work of disarmament to swimming in a river, he stressed the need for continuous involvement of as many people from as many backgrounds as possible and concluded that the cause must count on the youth.
Overall, the event situated the Treaty of Bangkok within a wider constellation of NWFZ anniversaries, while making the case that performance and personal testimony are indispensable complements to diplomacy. Speakers consistently emphasized the intergenerational character of nuclear harm, the importance of preserving survivor narratives, and the responsibility of nuclear-weapon states to take concrete steps—including the long-pending signature of the relevant Treaty of Bangkok protocols. The event reaffirmed that progress in nuclear disarmament has historically been driven by non-nuclear-armed states, affected communities, and youth, and called on diplomats and the next generation to continue advancing this work.
