There’s an old belief in Japan that if you fold 1,000 origami paper cranes, your wish will come true. I know this because I’ve already seen the Museum of Fine Arts summer blockbuster exhibition, Above the Fold: New Expressions in Origami. The exhibition does a beautiful job of displaying origami’s true potential through the work of nine modern origami masters.
But this Saturday, you get to fold the paper. The MFA is hosting a 1,000 paper cranes folding party, and you’re invited. The goal is to collectively fold enough paper cranes to send a string of them to Hiroshima, Japan. Here they will join thousands of other paper cranes from all over the world at the Children’s Peace Monument in Peace Memorial Park.
The gesture honors Sadako Sasaki’s memory. Sasaki was two years old when the atomic bomb hit Hiroshima in 1945. Like many atomic bomb survivors, Sasaki was diagnosed with leukemia years later. Sasaki kept folding paper cranes, hoping for recovery, until her death in 1955. Japanese schoolchildren were so moved by her story, they raised money to construct the Children’s Peace Monument that now stands in Peace Memorial Park.
More than 60 years later, people from all over the world still send paper cranes to Hiroshima in Sasaki’s honor. Now’s your chance to join them.
1000 Paper Cranes Folding Party | The Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Dr. NE, St. Petersburg | Sat., July 27, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. | 727-896-2667 | mfastpete.org
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This article appears in Jul 18-25, 2019.
