One Million Bones is a large-scale social arts practice, which means we combine education, hands-on art making, and public installations to raise awareness of ongoing genocides and mass atrocities in places like Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Burma.
We are collecting 1,000,000 handcrafted bones for a three-day installation event on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., June 8-10, 2013. The installation will exist as a collaborative site of conscience to honor victims and survivors, and will also serve as a visual petition against ongoing conflicts and a resounding call for much need and long overdue action.
The National Mall installation will feature international speakers and performers, educational workshops, a candlelight vigil, and the opportunity to Act Against Atrocities during an advocacy day on Capitol Hill led by our partners at the Enough Project. For more detailed information and a full schedule, please visit our Plan Your Trip page!
We offer two ways to create a bone. You can sign-up to create your own bone(s) in the Students Rebuild challenge. Every bone created through this initiative generates a $1 donation, up to $500,000, to CARE for their work on the ground in Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These funds are generously donated by the Bezos Family Foundation.
You may also have a biodegradable bone made in your name for a donation of $5. We will create the bone for you and place it on your behalf on the National Mall.
Over the last three years, the One Million Bones project has launched several major campaigns and organized two preview installations:
- Albuquerque 50,000 Bones Preview Installation on August 27, 2011
- New Orleans 50,000 Bones Preview Installation on April 7, 2012
- The Road to Washington on April 28, 2012
We never cease to be amazed at how many people have only a vague notion of what genocide is, and how many more have no idea it’s happening today. While we must remember genocides throughout history and honor those lost to unimaginable horrors, the current crimes against humanity we focus on require immediate attention and action. We understand genocide to be defined as outlined in the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide:
“Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and] forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”
At One Million Bones we are committed to leveraging the power of art to inspire activism. We believe that art is a powerful tool when used to effect social change and offers an immediate and visceral connection to difficult issues.
We invite people of all ages and nationalities to participate. If you are interested, check out the Get Involved tab above!