Encinitas Rotary Peacemaker Award honors Fallbrook champion for peace

ENCINITAS – The 2017 Encinitas Rotary Peacemaker Award was presented March 1 to honor local artist and journalist Kira Carrillo Corser for her work with the Posts for Peace and Justice program.

Rotary Peace Chair Robert Blumberg said, “This award recognizes individuals who facilitate, motivate and inspire others to work together for common goals, removing strife or negative divisions in the process. Kira Carrillo Corser, Fallbrook-based artist and journalist, was a natural choice for the 2017 award.”

Much of Corser’s work has focused on promotion of peace and justice, not only at the local, but also the national level. During the course of her 30-year career, her humanitarian efforts have given voice to diverse populations and issues of vital importance through documentary films, books, artwork and teaching.

Corser’s work has been displayed at the Smithsonian, Congress and Senate buildings in Washington DC, and throughout the US.

A resident of Fallbrook for seven years, Corser has taught at the Fallbrook School of the Arts, and taught and exhibited at the Fallbrook Library.

The “Posts for Peace and Justice” program, cofounded in 2014 by

Corser and Lisa Parsons, promotes nonviolence and peaceful solutions that bring together intergenerational and divergent communities through in-depth discussion and creation of “Peace Posts” that serve as public symbols of their commitment to peace.

The 8-foot tall vinyl posts are collaborative efforts that include input of professional artists and program participants. Each unique post features meaningful images, symbols and quotes, along with handprints of each individual involved in its creation.

Having shown in over 200 locations, the posts are designed to travel as they act as a community voice and promote peaceful discussions. The public is encouraged to photograph themselves and others with the posts to “post” on social media and the Posts for Peace and Justice website blog.

Beginning March 15, several Peace Posts created at the Compassionate California Youth Summit will be displayed at various Southern California locations including the Celebrity Center in Hollywood, Los Angeles police stations, the L.A. Underground, and Pasadena homeless shelters.

Corser said, “To promote peace, Posts are used to teach at community gatherings, to build bridges between communities such as the police and communities of color, to lessen fear between immigrants and established communities, to educate in schools concerning issues of bullying and racism, to help stop university campus rape and, of course, to promote world peace and environmental conservation.”

To learn more about Corser’s work and the Posts for Peace and Justice Project go to www.kiracorser.com and www.postsforpeaceandjustice.org.