Welcome to the PRC 50th Anniversary Events and Information page!
This website will continue to grow and expand as we near each 50th event. Please continue to check back. If you have questions in the meantime, please reach out at prc@wilmington.edu.
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Cost: All events are free and open to the public. |
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Registration: Some events require prior registration. Please read the event information to determine whether registration is required. |
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Location: All events will take place on the Wilmington College campus, with the exception of "Borrowed Landscape" which will take place at the Murphy Theatre (50 W. Main St., Wilmington, OH, 45177). |
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Directions and Parking: Wilmington College is located at 1870 Quaker Way, Wilmington, Ohio 45177. Please click HERE for a map and driving directions. Street parking is available on campus at no cost during all event days and times, but please arrive in plenty of time to locate parking and the on campus venues. |
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Lodging and local accommodations: Please visit the Clinton County Convention & Visitors Bureau website to view lodging and dining options while in Wilmington, Ohio. |
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Contact: prc@wilmington.edu |
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Acknowledgements: PRC 50th Anniversary events are co-sponsored by the Wilmington College Religion and Philosophy Department; the Wilmington College Music Department; and the Wilmington College Merrill Evans Fund. Additional funding for these events were provided by private donors and a generous grant from the Clinton County Convention & Visitors Bureau. We are also grateful to all the staff of Wilmington College without whom these events would not be possible. |
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50th/80th Commemorative Events Overview
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Vigil. 80 Years After: Hibakusha Call Us to Remember. (August 6, 2025, 8:15 a.m.-8:15 p.m., Quaker Heritage Center and Harcum Galleries, Boyd Cultural Arts Center, Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio) Become a Reader! Register HERE to read a short atomic bombing testimonial during the Vigil. The Peace Resource Center’s quinquennial twelve-hour vigil, on the 80th commemoration of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, consists of the communal reading of 80 hibakusha [atomic bombing sufferer] testimonials curated from the Peace Resource Center Barbara Reynolds Memorial Archives. Readers and listeners may quietly come and go for any amount of time throughout the duration of the vigil. The readings will take place in the Boyd Cultural Arts Center where readers and listeners may also view the "Memorializing the Hibakusha Experience" exhibition. which will begin August 6, 2025 and observe the "Peace Masks" project that will take place from 1-5 p.m. that day. |
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Peace Masks Project. (August 6, 2025, 1-5 p.m., Boyd Cultural Arts Center, Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio) Peace Mask founders Myong Hee Kim and Kya Kim will join the Peace Resource Center to collaborate with participants to create unique peace masks on traditional hand-made washi papers made in Echizen, Fukui Prefecture. “The collective masks serve as a reminder that the fate of humanity depends on allowing for and appreciating diversity while striving towards more meaningful cooperation.” |
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Exhibition. Memorializing the Hibakusha Experience (August 6-December 5, 2025, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays, Quaker Heritage Center and Harcum Galleries, Boyd Cultural Arts Center, Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio) A major commemorative exhibition curated by Dr. Claude Baillargeon, Professor of Art History, Oakland University, devoted to the aftermath of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The exhibition will feature the original Hiroshima and Nagasaki Memorial Collection of the Barbara Reynolds Memorial Archives. The collection was assembled in the 1960s by Quaker peace activist Barbara Reynolds (1915–1990), then a resident of Hiroshima, who dedicated herself to nuclear abolition by shining a light on the plight of the survivors known as hibakusha. The exhibition, which will bring together rare Japanese photographs, photobooks, and artifacts, will also include works by contemporary artists committed to nuclear abolition. |
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Exhibition Opening. Memorializing the Hibakusha Experience (August 8, 2025, 6 p.m., Quaker Heritage Center and Harcum Galleries, Boyd Cultural Arts Center, Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio) A major commemorative exhibition curated by Dr. Claude Baillargeon, Professor of Art History, Oakland University, devoted to the aftermath of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The exhibition will feature the original Hiroshima and Nagasaki Memorial Collection of the Barbara Reynolds Memorial Archives. The collection was assembled in the 1960s by Quaker peace activist Barbara Reynolds (1915–1990), then a resident of Hiroshima, who dedicated herself to nuclear abolition by shining a light on the plight of the survivors known as hibakusha. The exhibition, which will bring together rare Japanese photographs, photobooks, and artifacts, will also include works by contemporary artists committed to nuclear abolition. |
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Live Staged Reading. Atomic Bill and the Payment Due (September 9, 2025, 7:30 p.m., Hugh Heiland Theater, Wilmington College) A world premiere staged reading by the Wilmington College Theater Department of the original play Atomic Bill and the Payment Due by Libbe HaLevy (of the podcast Nuclear Hotseat). Atomic Bill is an Oppenheimer-adjacent true story about media manipulation at the dawn of the Atomic Age and the New York Times reporter who sold his soul to get the story. Tickets are provided at no cost, but reservations are required. |
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Symposium. Practicing Art, Practicing Nuclear Abolition: The Westheimer Peace Symposium (September 29-30, 2025, Wilmington College) Focusing on nuclear abolition and the arts, this will be a two-day hands-on experiential symposium facilitated by artists to create awareness about the need to eliminate nuclear weapons as a means to achieving local, national, and global justice and peace. The symposium is provided at no cost, but registration is required. |
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Performance. “Borrowed Landscape” (September 30, 2025, 7:00 p.m., Murphy Theatre, Wilmington, Ohio) Composed by London-based composer Dai Fujikura and performed by actors and musicians from Cincinnati's concertnova collective, “"Borrowed Landscape" is a radio-play that beautifully tells stories about string instruments like a Hiroshima piano, a double bass from Poland, and a surviving Stradivarius violin in Budapest. The tales weave together our connection to music, history, and how fragile life can be.” Tickets are provided at no cost, but reservations are required. |
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Conference. Archives as Witness: Preserving History, Memory, and Art at the Peace Resource Center at Wilmington College (September 30-October 1, 2025, Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio) Please click here to view CALL FOR PAPERS. An academic conference highlighting the multi-disciplinary historical materials, artistic creativity, and scholarship from the extraordinary Barbara Reynolds Memorial Archives that can be used as resources for imagining a world in which nuclear and military violence are no longer viewed as solutions for resolving global conflict. The conference is provided at no cost, but reservations are required.
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