- Developing a peace building programme for UK schools
- Researching museums and galleries across Europe
- Working with architects to develop the initial development brief
- Scoping locations in London
- Forming a board of trustees
- Identifying and on-boarding the right partners and ambassadors
- Crafting a strategic plan
- Registering with Charity Commission
- Joining the Association of Independent Museums
- Launching The Peace Building online
It all started in 2019… though the motivation was born back in the 1960s, as our project founder and initiator, Anna Lubelska, began to understand the devastation of war and conflict.
Anna was born in London in 1951, to Polish parents who had landed in London as a result of the second world war. She grew up hearing of her parents’ gruelling wartime experiences, with stories of mounting grief at losing both their parents and siblings. This struck a chord in Anna, stirring a strong inner motivation and desire to work for peace. Almost as a culmination of her own life’s journey, she took up the challenge of establishing a Peace Museum in London in September 2019; having already developed a growingly successful Peaceful Schools Programme.
Setting up a Peace Museum is an ambitious undertaking, so Anna started with the basics – assembling a team of experienced peace builders and museum experts; and commissioning a Strategic Plan to set up a charity that would provide the foundations for a new London landmark. The pandemic arrived as our plans got underway, steering us to develop a virtual peace museum. In 2022 we will be setting up our first London Peace Museum in a very special Centre in east London…
Our journey so far…
The story in pictures
Researching the very best museums and galleries across Europe. Here we are at The Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo, Norway. Housed in a converted railway station, this unique museum is now surrounded by a brand new Cultural Quarter.
Exploring the City of Coventry – a City of Peace and Reconciliation, twined with Dresden in Germany. Coventry’s Herbert Art Gallery & Museum has a wonderful room exploring peace activity in the city – past and present.
We have formed a strategic partnership with London’s Imperial War Museum – A social history museum with several other museums in its network.
Kensington Palace, the official residence of TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, is located in one of the Royal Parks of London. At The Peace Building, we feel that Kensington Gardens would be a great place for a Peace Museum. After all, there are two art galleries in the park already!
A visit to the People’s History Museum in Manchester, exploring 200 years of democracy. We talked to the staff about providing a Peace Education programme for local schools.
Exploring peaceful, welcoming and engaging interior spaces at a workshop designed just for us – in the offices of Architects, Hayhurst and Co – in the historic Brick Lane area of East London.
Discovering a sculpture constructed from metal debris of New York’s Twin Towers, with one of our Peace Ambassadors. The sculpture lives in the Stratford areas of East London – a vibrant location for a new Cultural quarter. Perfect for a Peace Museum perhaps?!