About the Project
When Sir Winston Churchill delivered his historic address at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, on March 5, 1946, he coined the phrase “special relationship” referring to the alliance between Great Britain and the United States.
For Churchill, alliances were critically important. His Fulton speech, now known at the ‘Iron Curtain’ speech, was given the title “Sinews of Peace” by Churchill. Sinews are tissues or tendons that bind muscle and bones together. They make us stronger. So do alliances and special relationships.
As part of its 50th anniversary celebration in 2019, America’s National Churchill Museum invited K-12 public and private school students from Mid Missouri to paint or draw the concept special relationship.
Some chose to explore the relationship between parent and child, some chose to explore the relationship between community and commerce, still others the relationships we have with our neighbors, pets, churches, schools, or civic organizations. These relationships are sinews that make us a stronger society.
Together with brief artist statements, the completed artworks – over 4,000 total – have been photographed, numbered, and documented digitally for global distribution on this website. The works are now installed and exhibited in a grand mosaic of special relationships in America's National Churchill Museum, opening on March 5, 2019, the anniversary of the “Sinews of Peace” speech.
The exhibition is free with Museum admission and will remain on view through September 22.
In the video below Sandra L. and Monroe E. Trout Director and Chief Curator Timothy Riley introduces the the Special Relationship Project:
