Where Pigs Have Peace, and Art

Last weekend, after visiting Seattle to give a talk at the University of Washington — on the subject of Activism and Academia — Mariann and I were lucky enough to visit Pigs Peace Sanctuary, located just 45-minutes outside of the city. Excitingly, Pigs Peace’s founder, Judy Woods, is going to join us tomorrow on our podcast — along with one of the truly fantastic organizers for the University of Washington’s Animal Rights Working Group, Katie Gillespie.
Mariann and I have visited many sanctuaries, and always treasure our time at them. As we’ve spoken about before, farmed animal sanctuaries can give activists the opportunity to press reboot, and to spend time with the animals for whom we work so hard to change the world.
One thing that struck me about Pigs Peace in particular was the stunning art that surrounded the pigs — and the human visitors. Incorporating art into the sanctuary grounds is something Judy, a passionate activist and former nurse, will be talking more about on Episode 145 of our podcast, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to bring it up here on the blog, too, since I see it as a unique and refreshing advocacy opportunity, one that is replicable in a variety of circumstances. For one week, Judy closed the sanctuary doors to visitors and opened them to artists from within the community. At Pigs Peace, the artists went hog wild (pardon the potentially oppressive term), painting barns, walls, and pictures — building sculptures and camaraderie. Other members of the community brought vegan meals to the artists, many of whom camped out on the sanctuary grounds. The result is a colorful, cheery display of pro-animal themed art that could hold its own in any museum. During our visit, Judy mentioned in passing how she really wanted the colorful art there for the pigs. It is, after all, their place, and their peace.
For anyone who owns a business, or a building, or anything paintable, why not open it up for artists to come in and bring it to life with animal-friendly, activism-oriented murals, paintings, and other squawk-worthy creations? At Pigs Peace, visitors leave with a strong message of compassion. I like to believe that the message, delivered directly from the frolicking animals, is driven home by the writing on the wall. Literally.