ARUCAD brings Armando Milani’s “War to Peace” to the heart of Nicosia

ARUCAD and the Nicosia Turkish Municipality (LTB) have brought one of graphic design's most iconic images of peace to the walled city. As part of the LTB's restoration of Kuyumcular Street and Mithat Paşa Street in the Surlariçi pedestrian zone, a newly created square now carries a large-scale mural of Armando Milani's "War to Peace" — the poster Milani designed for the United Nations, in which removing the "A" from "WAR" gives rise to "PEACE," a dove at its centre and a single red "A" marking the transformation.

The mural was realised through a collaboration between ARUCAD and the LTB. It was painted by Batu Gündal, mural artist and lecturer in ARUCAD's Plastic Arts Department, together with Barış Bürüncük, President of the ARUCAD Graffiti Club. Armando Milani personally granted permission for his design to be applied to the wall. He visited the completed work on site with LTB Mayor Mehmet Harmancı, signed the wall himself, and praised the team for the effort and care they brought to realising his design in such an iconic location.

The site carries particular meaning for Milani, who observed that while the Berlin Wall was built to divide people, the wall in Nicosia — in Europe's last divided capital — holds the potential to bring them together, and expressed hope that it might become an opportunity for reconciliation, mutual understanding and dialogue.

For ARUCAD, the project reflects the university's ongoing commitment to public art and to placing its faculty and students at the centre of meaningful work in the community.