NEW YORK, NY.- With labels that read "Fragile Contains: Peace, Love or Hope", visual artist Franck de Las Mercedes sends abstractly painted, seemingly empty boxes to anybody, anywhere in the world, for free.

The "Priority Boxes" project is a public art series that seeks to initiate dialogue on peace, challenge people to reconsider their ability to influence change and question the fragility, value and priority given to those concepts. Each box, sent by mail to anyone who requests one, is both a canvas for a unique abstract painting and a platform for communication through art. A mixture of art and activism, the boxes are sent free to convey that something of such priority as peace should not have a price and that art can be both inclusive and accessible to all. From his small New Jersey studio, the artist has sent over 10,600 boxes around the globe, to countries in every continent.

Since its beginning in 2006, the project has been funded by the artist and donations and has evolved into a movement that has been embraced by popular culture, the mainstream media, schools and art educators across America. De Las Mercedes is often invited to visit schools to meet with students and discuss the power of art and one's personal ability to influence change. Students across the country, even from districts that don't receive arts education due to cuts in funding, also build their own boxes and put their stamp on the internationally acclaimed project.

Franck and his work have been featured on numerous national and international television and radio shows including, NJN News, WMBC-TV, LatiNation, CNN En Español, Noticiero Telemundo and Univision's "Aqui y Ahora." He's also been featured in prestigious publications including, The Christian Science Monitor, Selecciones (Reader's Digest), Art Business News, Hispanic Magazine, SoulPancake, Cosmopolitan Greece, Museum VIEWS, American Style and The Artist's magazine.