Costa Rica's 5-Month Peace Festival Starts This Week
Over 100 artists from three continents are gathering in Costa Rica for a free five-month festival that transforms decommissioned weapons into art. The event, running September through January, celebrates how creativity can turn violence into hope.
A Costa Rican artist who sculpts with melted-down guns is hosting a massive celebration of peace, and everyone's invited for free.
Juan Carlos Chaverria has spent years transforming decommissioned weapons from Costa Rica's Ministry of Security into art displayed at venues like the Organization of American States in Washington D.C. Now he's bringing over 100 artists, poets, musicians, and actors to the Juan Santamaria Museum in Alajuela for a festival that runs from September 23 through January 2027.
The opening night on September 23 kicks off at 6:30 p.m. with live music, poetry readings, and gallery tours showcasing paintings, drawings, and sculptures all centered on peace. Artists are traveling from South America, Central America, and Europe to participate, though some couldn't make it due to restrictions in their home countries.
The festival's first weekend packs in four days of activities. Thursday features an Art and Wine for Peace evening (reservations required). Friday brings Argentine author Inéz Alonso Ares for a book presentation followed by peace poetry. Saturday goes all day with workshops, concerts, museum tours, and a gastronomic fair.
Chaverria founded Transformacion en Tiempos Violentos in 2010 with a simple mission: use art to "change negative to positive, dark to light." He's run workshops everywhere from prisons to schools to street corners, teaching people to create beauty from difficult circumstances.
The festival location itself tells a peace story. The Juan Santamaria Museum sits in a former army garrison on the northeast corner of Alajuela's Central Park. Costa Rica transformed several old military quarters into museums for education after abolishing its army in 1949.
The Ripple Effect
Chaverria's vision connects local action to global impact. His international exhibitions have inspired artists worldwide to see creativity as a tool for social change. By hosting workshops in prisons and schools, he's shown incarcerated individuals and students that transformation is always possible, no matter where you start.
The festival brings this message to thousands of visitors over five months, with activities designed for all ages and interests. From gastronomy to visual arts to performance, every element reinforces the same idea: communities can actively choose peace and creativity over violence and fear.
The museum welcomes visitors Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and every single event throughout the five-month festival is completely free.
Art made from weapons that once threatened lives will now inspire them instead.
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Based on reporting by Tico Times Costa Rica
This story was written by BrightWire based on verified news reports.
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