MacDowell hosts Yoko Ono's Wish Tree during Medal Day Celebration WISH TREE, 1996

Medal Day - July 21, 2024

A small white tag hangs from the branches of a tree. On the tag, a peace symbol is written

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)

Since 1996, Yoko Ono has invited people from around the world to write their personal wishes on a piece of paper and tie them to branches of WISH TREE installation sites around the world. All the wishes are returned to Ono and continue on in connection with her IMAGINE PEACE TOWER, a 2007 installation on Viðey Island off Reykjavik, Iceland, dedicated to the memory of her late husband John Lennon. To date, more than two million people have shared their wishes.

On Medal Day 2024, when Ono was celebrated for her contribution to interdisciplinary arts with the Edward MacDowell Medal, MacDowell became a Wish Tree site along with museums such as the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Two fruit trees in MacDowell's orchard received over 600 wishes, contributing to this conceptual art installation series.


The morning after our Medal Day celebration, MacDowell staff 'harvested' the wishes from the plum and peach trees and prepared them to return to Ono.

A woman stands at a long table and holds a small instructional sign. The table is laid with white cloth and materials for the Wish Tree are set out in bamboo boxes.

(Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

A bamboo box holds white tags to be used for the Wish Tree

(Beowulf Sheehan photo)

a small group gather under a white tent. They are gathering materials for an activity from a table

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)

Three people gather around a table adorned with flowers and a white table cloth. They are writing on small pieces of paper.

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)

Two women stand in front of a peach tree, tying on their wishes.

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)

A woman attached a small white tag, on which she has written a wish, to a peach tree.

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)

A small white tag hangs from the branches of a tree. On the tag, a peace symbol is written

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)

From a distance, three people are seen standing under a small orchard. The day is warm, sunny, and white clouds float across the skies

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)

A family attaches a small white tag, on which they have written a wish, to a peach tree.

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)

A small child roams underneath the trees in a small orchard.
Hundred of small white tags hang from the branches of a peach tree. The setting sun illuminates the scene with warm light

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)

People stand at a peach tree, tying their wishes to its branches.

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)

Hundred of small white tags hang from the branches of a peach tree. The setting sun illuminates the scene with warm light

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)

A young man attaches a small white tag, on which he has written a wish, to a peach tree.

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)

A young girl and a woman lean over a table as they write their wishes on small tags

(Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Friends and family gather under the branches in an orchard, tying their wishes to the branches

(Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

A woman attached a small white tag, on which she has written a wish, to a peach tree.

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)

A woman attaches a small white tag, on which she has written a wish, to a peach tree.

(Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

Hundred of small white tags hang from the branches of a peach tree. The setting sun illuminates the scene with warm light

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)

A man attaches a small white tag, on which he has written a wish, to a peach tree.

(Joanna Eldredge Morrissey photo)

At sunset, a large white tent is seen in a field in the distance. In the foreground, white tags hang from the branches of a peach tree.

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)

Hundred of small white tags hang from the branches of a peach tree. The setting sun illuminates the scene with warm light

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)

Hundred of small white tags hang from the branches of a peach tree. The setting sun illuminates the scene with warm light

(Cassandra Yerkes photo)