‘If Peace is a puzzle, where do you find it?’

Students and staff may have noticed the recent installation of John Noltner’s “A Peace of My Mind” exhibit in the Campus Center and various academic buildings. The exhibit, intended to spark dialogue about peace and our role in its creation, highlights 55 people from the Midwest. Gustavus is one of 7 sponsors for the traveling exhibit, which has been so successful that it is booked through 2015.

The exhibit is the byproduct of an idea that Noltner had six years ago. Noltner, the owner of his own freelance photography company, found himself with a lot of free time  when the economy took a downturn in 2008. During this time, he became frustrated with how polarized the dialogue was in our country and our world. “A Peace of My Mind” was born out of his desire to counter the polarization he found so pervasive, to explore, instead, the common good we all share and other’s ideas about peace.

The initial success of the project eventually inspired the creation of a book after people viewing the traveling exhibit expressed interest in taking the stories home with them. Faced with challenges posed by the traditional publishing route, Noltner launched a kickstarter campaign and received funding from 92 people, making the publication possible.

Both the traveling exhibit and book cover the same material, and Noltner is currently working on his second book, A Peace of My Mind: American Stories. He has visions of an international version of the project as well.

Senior Studio Art Major and Peace Studies Minor Briana Bloom noted her appreciation of the traveling exhibit displayed around campus. She enjoyed how the exhibit shows the great range and diversity of opinions regarding what peace means—even in a relatively small area like the Midwest. She also noted the accessibility of the exhibit presented by its very format.

“I think the traveling exhibit is so innovative. It can be installed anywhere, and more people can see it. It can be put in spaces where art isn’t commonly found, like here in Chapel or outside the Caf,” said Bloom.

Anecdotally, Noltner said, people respond positively to the project, however, she doesn’t feel that the success can be quantified with numbers.

“We, as a society, like to quantify things and say that ’57 percent  of the people have responded positively to this project.’ I don’t know that all of the good things in life can be quantified with numbers, and I’m not sure that they need to be. I really do believe that there is a hunger for this kind of conversation in this polarized dialogue sort of world,” Noltner said.

Noltner believes there is enough bad news in the world, but also a significant amount of encouragement that comes from hearing other’s stories when we may feel like we don’t have the strength to make a difference. According to Noltner, this is the puzzle of peace.

“Maybe my piece of the puzzle is as a messenger, to sort of deliver these stories of hope and encouragement to people who are trying to be on this path. And to say, ‘You know what, we can do this. All kinds of people are doing it. Don’t give up even if you get discouraged.’ To be able to bring that message to some people who maybe haven’t considered it before may be my piece. Is it going to change the world? Probably not. Is it going to change someone’s world? Maybe,” Noltner said.

Noltner noted that places like Gustavus are a good fit for the exhibit to appear, because of the already established culture of the campus community.

“I really do believe that ‘A Peace of My Mind’ fits really well into the Gustavus model of engaging the world and being of service and finding your place out in the community where you can make an impact,” Noltner said.

Students and staff have two more days to peruse “A Peace of My Mind.” The exhibit moves onto its next location on March 9.