Latest news with #Seleskovic
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Delegates, artists discuss cultural exchange as a tool for peace
NATO delegates are in Dayton to honor the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords which helped to end the war in the Balkans. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] News Center 7's Mike Campbell has insight from today's sessions LIVE on News Center 7 at 6. The main themes from Sunday's sessions were bringing peace to hotspots around the world and bringing people together. TRENDING STORIES: Car crashes into Dayton business; No injuries reported Hundreds rally against NATO Parliamentary Assembly for second day 1 taken to hospital after boat crash at Indian Lake NAACP of Ohio's Vice Chairman Derrick Foward introduced a panel about keeping peace through cultural exchanges, especially through visual and performing arts. Bosnian artist Edina Seleskovic said culture can bridge gaps between people and keep them from becoming enemies. 'Bosnia, for me, is not a country of war, it is a country of peace,' Seleskovic. Debbie Blunden-Diggs, director of the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company agreed. 'I think that art is the connective tissue of humanity, I think it is the thing we all, intrinsically, have in common,' Blunden-Diggs said. Seleskovic said she was stuck in the US as a child when the war between Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia turned into a bloodbath. It went on for years and leveled entire cities. 'The places where men and boys would be separated from the women and children,' Ambassador and Moderator Tom McDonald, former US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, said. 'The men and boys would often be shot, the towns were then burned out.' In 1995, US diplomats gathered all parties in Dayton. Marathon negotiations ended with the Dayton Peace Accords, and they have lasted 30 years and allowed the countries to rebuild. Sunday's panelists say keeping peace means cultural exchanges through dance, art, sports and food, to let people know how much they have in common. NATO delegates agree that connections between people and nations will keep people safe. Delegates have another full day of meetings and sessions planned for Memorial Day. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Demonstrations of peace; How the NATO Assembly inspires artists
In the hustle and bustle of a busy NATO Assembly already underway in Dayton, visitors can participate in these various artistic and historical exhibits throughout the city. Renowned artist Edina Seleskovic is bringing her artistic gifts to Dayton for the installation of 'Thinking Freedom at the Dayton Arcade rotunda. News Center 7's Xavier Hershovitz visited the art display inspired by Seleskovic's story as an exchange student. The Bosnian-born artist said she came to the U.S. in 1991. Seleskovic said she couldn't return to her home country after the school year was over because a major war had started in Bosnia. Thirteen years ago, Seleskovic was finally able to return to Bosnia, and that's where the idea for the project came from. On each of the metal doves featured in the exhibit, people's answers to the question 'What does freedom mean to you?' are written on them. 'I realized that art and culture can be messengers. They can be connectors. They have permission to cross borders and barriers,' Seleskovic said. Installation began May 18 and was first open to the public on Wednesday. The exhibit is free and open to the public during select times May 21-31. 'By combining art, history, and community engagement, we hope to honor the past, celebrate the progress made, and inspire future generations to continue striving for peace and unity,' a spokesperson for Culture Works said on their website. For more information, visit The Christ Episcopal Church on West First Street in Dayton is hosting a 'Sanctuary for Peace,' a community gathering to offer prayers for peace and maintain a vigil for peace during the NATO Assembly. The event is open to people of all faiths. The church is located near the center of the secure zone of NATO Village, but Christ Episcopal Church said their church 'will not stand empty.' 'This event is for everyone in the community who wishes to offer words of encouragement and support for the work of peace, both through NATO and throughout the world,' a spokesperson for Christ Episcopal Church said on their website. Guided prayers will be offered at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. each day from May 22 to May 26. For more information, visit This exhibit will feature artifacts and stories that celebrate everything to do with Dayton's legacy. It will celebrate the Wright Brothers' groundbreaking inventions and innovations in aviation. It will celebrate the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords. It will also contain historical items from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. 'By opening the doors of the Old Montgomery County Courthouse to the public, we're not only honoring the past, but we're making it accessible and relevant to the next generation. This is especially important for our young people. When students walk through these halls and see exhibits that showcase both local innovation and natural history, they can see themselves as part of that ongoing story,' Montgomery County Commissioner Carolyn Rice said. The exhibit will be open throughout the NATO Assembly and will remain open to the public from May 27 to May 29 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The courthouse's first floor will be open for tours. World-renowned conductor Marin Alsop will stand in front of the Sarajevo Philharmonic and the Dayton Philharmonic and lead them through a 'once-in-a-lifetime musical event that unites cultures and celebrates the power of peace.' In a showcase of how 'music transcends boundaries to inspire harmony and connection,' the two philharmonics will come together for one night only at the Schuster Center on May 29 at 8 p.m. The philharmonics will perform Bernstein's 'Candide Overture,' Vaughan Williams' 'Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis,' and Beethoven's 'Symphony No. 5.' For more information, visit
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
New art exhibit at Arcade emphasizes peace, unity, freedom
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — A global art exhibition has made its way to downtown Dayton in time for the opening of the NATO spring session. 'Think Freedom' is an interactive installation highlighting themes of peace, unity and freedom. Four hundred metallic birds now hang in the Dayton Arcade's rotunda, each carrying messages of peace from young people around the world, including the Miami Valley. More on the NATO Parliamentary Assembly 2025 Spring Session in Dayton 'Think Freedom' debuted 10 years ago in Bosnia and has traveled to 26 cities worldwide. But Dayton is its first time on American soil. 'Even more significant is this connection between Bosnia and Dayton and the fact the Dayton has played such a part in creating this peace accord that has kept peace,' said Edina Seleskovic. 'I think it's really incredible for me as somebody who was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, somebody who came to United States as an exchange student and as somebody who couldn't go back home because the war started.' The 'Think Freedom' project took more than six months to complete, with help from Miami Valley students ranging from middle school to college. Residents, workers grappling with downtown NATO closures 'I was so happy to see how many of them joined in, how many of them shared their ideas,' said Seleskovic. 'How many of them keep kept asking questions, and how many of them were willing to share their thoughts so publicly.' As Dayton hosts the 2025 NATO Spring Session, marking 30 years since the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, 'Think Freedom' carries even more meaning. How Dayton played a role in the ending of the Bosnian War 'I really hope for the visitors who are going to come to the Arcade, whether they're living in Dayton or visiting, to make them realize that there is more, beyond the news and the media and the politics,' said Seleskovic. 'That they're young people who really depend on the decisions that they make.'Think Freedom will stay open until the first week in June. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
