Pedro Reyes to receive Luxembourg Peace Prize award for Outstanding Art for Peace

26 May 2020

The list of laureates for the 2020 Luxembourg Peace Prize has been announced, including Pedro Reyes as the recipient of the Outstanding Art for Peace award. For the ninth consecutive year, the Schengen Peace Foundation and the World Peace Forum are awarding the prestigious Luxembourg Peace Prize to outstanding peacemakers and activists.

Through a varied practice utilising sculpture, performance, video, and activism, Reyes explores the power of individual and collective organisation to incite change through communication, creativity, happiness, and humour. Reyes was selected for his works which aim to increase individual or collective agency in social, environmental, political or educational situations, and for large-scale projects that address current social and political issues, such as his socio-political critique of contemporary gun culture as addressed in Palas por Pistolas (2008), and Disarm (2013). Each of these projects saw the artist work with local authorities in Mexico to reconstitute seized firearms, melting them down to create tree-planting shovels and musical instruments, respectively.

Find further information via the Luxembourg Peace Prize website.

Image: Pedro Reyes, Protester III (2018, detail), Bronze, 120 x 50 x 36 cm, 47 1/4 x 19 5/8 x 14 1/8 in