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Yoko Ono

Portrait of a woman in black shirt, black sunglasses, and dark hair.

Yoko Ono's Wish Tree is The Pop District's third public art commission. Photograph by Matthew Placek © Yoko Ono

Since 1996, Yoko Ono has invited people from around the world to write their personal wishes and tie them to a tree branch as Wish Tree.

All the wishes are returned to Ono and continue on in connection with her Imagine Peace Tower, a 2007 installation in Reykjavík, Iceland, dedicated to the memory of her late husband John Lennon. More than a million people have shared their wishes.

Three sugar maple trees in wooden planters in the foreground of a park-like setting across the street from the museum.

Yoko Ono's Wish Tree installed in The Pop District outside The Andy Warhol Museum. Photo by Kitoko Chargois

Table in park-like setting with framed instructions, paper tags, and pencils.

Visitors to the Wish Tree are asked to write their wish on a paper tag. Photo by Kitoko Chargois

Table with instructions, paper tags, and pencils.

Visitors to the Wish Tree are asked to write their wish on a paper tag. Photo by Kitoko Chargois

Paper tags and short pencils sit in a container on a table.

Paper tags and pencils at the ready. Photo by Kitoko Chargois

A potted sugar maple tree sits in the center of a patch of grass.

A Wish Tree in situ, hosting wishes from visitors. Photo by Kitoko Chargois

Three sugar maple trees in wooden planters in the foreground of a park-like setting across the street from the museum.

An alternate view of the Wish Tree installation as seen from the museum. Photo by Kitoko Chargois

About the Artist

Yoko Ono (b. 1933) is a New York–based multimedia artist working in performance, instruction, film, installation, music, and writing. A forerunner in conceptual art involving collaboration, audience participation, and social activism since the early 1960s, Ono challenges viewers’ understanding of art and the world around them. Her influence spans many of the key artistic movements of the late 20th century including Fluxus, conceptual art, video art, and feminism. In addition to her work as a visual artist, Ono is also a musical pioneer, both an accomplished singer and songwriter.

Wish Tree was organized by José Diaz, former chief curator, and The Art Supply Co.

Wish Tree has been made possible with the generosity of the Richard King Mellon Foundation.