The United Nations will host an exhibit of handmade butterflies made by children from six continents over the last two decades to memorialize the 1.5 million mostly Jewish children who perished in the Holocaust. The display, which officially opens Tuesday, Jan. 23 in the United Nations Visitors’ Lobby, represents a portion of the 1.5 million butterflies contained in Holocaust Museum Houston’s “The Butterfly Project: Remembering the Children of the Holocaust"and is presented as part of the United Nation’s observance of the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
The United Nations exhibit includes six large display cases and 14 wall panels showcasing hundreds of handmade butterflies “in flight,” an interactive wishing wall and a video depicting the history of the project. The colorful butterflies represent a stunning range of artistic interpretations and materials, including paper, wood, metal, fabric, feathers, stained glass and concrete. Inspired by the children who perished, the butterflies also convey the loss of beauty, potential and freedom.