The AMMP seeks global peace through connecting cultures and and humanity with the power of a paint brush and 5’x12′ canvas – one at a time. Currently creating twelve miles of global art work. Endangered Planet features the Environmental Mile director and coordinator and is coordinating a North American Tour to complement the Exhibition of the Century. Sponsorship and donations for this local and global exhibit will tie you to the major exhibition to bring peace, harmony and environmental awareness to the world.

As modern and recent history will reveal, a phenomenal project began in 1997 in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the post Balkan conflict, by California resident and husband, Drs. and Fouad and Joanne Tawfilis (PhD, Fine Arts) when she was the Director of the Women of Srebrenica Project, working hands on and in the field with the widows of 10,000 missing men that disappeared in a period of two days. Through her assignment in the City of Tuzla, where the widows were sent following the genocide of the men and boys, Dr. Tawfilis worked on educational, economic development and reconciliation issues.

During the time spent there she sought refuge and relief from the stress and pressure of horrific war stories shared by the widows and having to witness and accompany widows searching for the remains of those haphazardly found through investigations and determination to find their loved ones. This diversion of grief and emotional stress that filled her heart found her working on art projects in an orphanage.

It was here, in March of 1997 that by request of the children, Joanne facilitated the very first mural created by 350 orphans on a bed sheet full of bullet holes.

Joanne Tawfilis

by Shannon Luders-Manuel from Los Angeles, California in United States

Joanne Tawfilis is the executive director of The Art Miles Mural Project, which she co-founded with her late husband, Fouad Tawfilis. She's a world-renowned "artivist" and inspirational speaker, with an honorary PhD in Fine Arts from California State University San Marcos. As an artivist, she doesn't just create and cherish art; she also uses it as a medium to bring people together through the common goal of peace and human rights. The Art Miles Mural Project has mobilized more than 500,000 people from over 125 countries to paint approximately 5,000 murals. When the project reached 4,000 murals, they were displayed at the "Culture Wheel" in Cairo, Egypt, and live streamed to 200 million people globally. The United States presented Art Miles as an exhibition in Paris, France, at the UNESCO headquarters. People of all ages and cultures, from all over the world, create the art, which is either painted or sewn onto canvas.

Joanne and her late husband, Fouad, have led The Art Miles Mural project for an impressive twenty-two years. It stemmed from a project she started in Bosnia, where 350 orphans without family created a mural using a bedsheet riddled with bullet holes. The children took part in a project that helped heal the horrors they had experienced. With the murals, they built something beautiful out of heartbreak, something tangible out of chaos.

Joanne Tawfilis is a true hero who continues to work for a more connected and loving world. She says, “I think there’s not enough time to write new textbooks and get them into the system and that’s why our mini murals from Muramid on the Go and stories of heroes will help get more complete stories of history from our country as well as others. We want to uncover stories that come from real people, giving people a voice, and creating a visual interpretation of modern history.” Tawfilis has created an innovative space for these truths to shine on canvases near and far.