Families, friends and curious passersby are invited to fold their own paper doves and write messages of peace at free workshops, open to all.
Peace takes flight at centre:mk in Milton Keynes: Thousands of origami doves and community voices transform the city this summer
- From 18 – 27 July, the award winning, IF: Milton Keynes International Festival returns and will transform Milton Keynes city centre into a vibrant stage, hosting performances and installations that imagine a brighter shared future
- centre:mk will host the world-renowned art for peace installation, Les Colombes, by artist Michael Pendry and has co-commissioned the World premiere of Utopia in Verse, by local poet-in-residence Maureen Onwunali
- centre:mk and IF: Milton Keynes International Festival continue to bring extraordinary cultural experiences into everyday spaces
17 July 2025: This summer, Milton Keynes will be transformed into a vibrant canvas for peace, hope, and imagination. Through a series of powerful performances and thought-provoking installations, the city will come alive with creativity that inspires reflection, connection and a dream for a brighter future. As part of IF: Milton Keynes International Festival, in partnership with centre:mk — one of the UK’s leading retail destinations — thousands of hand-folded doves alongside the voices of local young people will turn public spaces into symbols of unity. In a year shaped by global unrest and rising tensions, the Festival offers a timely and moving message of collective hope.
Les Colombes by Michael Pendry
At the heart of centre:mk, is a FREE art installation by internationally renowned artist Michael Pendry. His world-famous floating sculpture, Les Colombes, will be exhibited in Middleton Hall. Featuring a canopy of over 2,500 origami doves, including 1,000 new paper doves, each hand-folded by a diverse range of community members from across Milton Keynes. Each dove carries a unique message of hope and love, written by the individual who created it. Suspended overhead, the doves form a stunning visual symbol of peace, inviting visitors to pause, reflect, and connect through a shared sense of unity and hope.
Utopia in Verse by Maureen Onwunali
Commissioned by centre:mk, Utopia in Verse is the world premiere of a new spoken word performance by local poet Maureen Onwunali. Maureen grew up and still lives in Milton Keynes and has collaborated with young people from across the city to imagine Utopia in Verse, a performance piece that captures their hopes, fears, and dreams for a better world.
Together these artists challenge us to ask what peace looks like and who gets to imagine it, using public space to provoke thought, engender unity, and present a complete sensory experience.
Join in: Make your own doves and write messages of hope
Families, friends, and curious passersby are invited to join the workshop in Middleton Hall, centre:mk to fold their own paper doves and write messages of peace. Workshops are FREE and open to all.
Placing community at the heart of the Festival, the workshops are inspired to continue spreading the message of peace far beyond the installation itself, across homes, shop windows, and around the city.
- Make and Take Dove-Making Workshops at Middleton Hall: Wednesday 3 – Sunday 27 July, 11am-3pm
- Dove Making and Peace Haiku Workshop at Workshop Tent, Campbell Park: Friday 18 July, 3pm – 6pm
Kevin Duffy, Centre Director,centre:mk, commented: “This year’s Festival is a chance to echo public sentiment through a creative lens that is timely, moving and visually arresting. These two expressions together remind us that peace must be made and remade together and is achieved through participation, collaboration and conversation. To bring the extraordinary into an everyday space, we are able to invite thousands of people to come along and enjoy the wonderful work by Michael Pendry, Maureen Onwunali and experience the wider Festival programme. Through our headline partnership with the Festival, we are giving the Milton Keynes community free access to international-scale artwork on their doorstep, supporting Milton Keynes’ cultural growth.”
Monica Ferguson, Festival Director, commented:“In a world that feels increasingly divided, IF: Milton Keynes International Festival reminds us of the power of coming together - through art, words, and shared experience. centre:mk, as a long-time headline partner of the Festival is host to two of the Festival’s most powerful pieces; Michael Pendry using symbolic visuals, and Maureen Onwunali harnessing emotive language. Together, these connected projects explore what peace looks like and question who has the power to envision it.”
The wider IF: Milton Keynes International Festival 2025 takes place from 18 to 27 July and will bring the city to life with an exciting programme of events. Audiences can look forward to world and UK premieres, brand new commissions, and a wide variety of experiences including outdoor performances, live music, circus, comedy, cabaret, art installations, and free activities for families.
For more information, visit https://ifmiltonkeynes.org/event/les-colombes-by-michael-pendry and https://ifmiltonkeynes.org/event/maureen-onwunali-poetry-jam-utopia-in-verse
