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Bells cascade from the ceiling of the Dirk Koning Microcinema.
The peace pole dedication ceremony.
On a gray noon, the beats of Badenya caromed through Wealthy Theatre as a small crowd gathered for the Earth Day peace pole dedication ceremony. The peace pole was the closing chapter of a memorial to Dirk Koning, the first executive director of the Community Media Center.
Inscribed on the pole were 13 written languages, ranging from familiar ones in West Michigan - English, Spanish, Dutch, Braille - to the more outlandish - Animalese.
"The languages were chosen in part because they represent the different ethnicities that comprise the Greater Grand Rapids area," said Wealthy Theatre Director Erin Wilson. Also on the pole was Zuni, the language spoken in the Native American reservation in New Mexico where Koning was born.
The peace pole was conceived in Japan in 1955 following the bombing of Hiroshima. Each peace pole is marked at its root with an "x" from the ashes of the original dedication fire in Japan. Today, Wealthy Theatre joined more than 200,000 peace pole sites around the world, a few of which are staked in Grand Rapids.
"This completes the installations and renovations that were initiated in the year after Dirk died," Wilson said. "Each of which, by themselves, give a long-lasting, ongoing and functional memorial representing accessibility, peace and innovation, three things Dirk embodied."
Koning passed away unexpectedly in 2005 during a medical procedure. He was an inspirational figure in the community media sphere and traveled the country and world to consult and help set up community media centers. His tenure began with the establishment of GRTV, incorporated WYCE community radio and initiated CMC's nonprofit services. The CMC became an international model for youth media and was in the process of acquiring Wealthy Theatre at the time of Koning's death.
"He dedicated his life to democratic communication, not only in the United States but here and abroad, around the world in [countries such as] South Korea and Brazil," said Tim Goodwin, one of the founding CMC board members who hired Koning and who led as board president after his death. Goodwin is also Koning's closest friend. "He was well thought of. He was a big man with a big heart and big spirit, and I suppose if we can take anything from this, I hope it's that spirit."
Other components of the memorial include a sculpture of more than 150 bells installed on the east wall of Wealthy Theatre's microcinema, named for Koning. A wheelchair accessible entry and peace garden were also constructed behind Wealthy Theatre, culminating with the garden's planting last fall.
The pole will be permanently installed in the middle of the walkway between Wealthy Theatre and the Institute for Global Education next week.
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