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Taking Down the Atlanta Origami Doves

A Behind-the-Scenes Look

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Last week, the Senior Staff of Taro’s Origami Studio had the distinct honor of celebrating and retiring the Atlanta Origami Doves installation — a soaring flock that had filled the sanctuary of Peachtree Road UMC for over a year.  You can read more about that installation here:

Taro’s Origami Studio

[Atlanta] Origami Doves Project

🕒️November 13, 2024

PRUMC Atlanta Doves ProjectOver the last decade, the Taro's Origami Studio team has worked on a wide variety of unique projects. We've created massive life-sized origami animal sculptures, cruise ship replicas, luxury car commercials, and even custom winter wonderlands.But our newest project, with over two years of planning, drew on and surpassed everything we've done to this point.For the last 24 months the Taro's senior design team of Frank Ling and Ben Friesen have work...

But as a congregant wisely mentioned when we arrived, “Nothing is special unless it ends”.  In this post, we will walk you through how we approached the trip, from the last dedication and music service, to the preparation for each dove, and finally the unique closing of this extraordinary chapter.

1) DEDICATION

Originally the doves were only supposed to fly for about 6 months, but after receiving universal approval, the staff decided to let them stay for the entire year. With the church’s centennial celebrations complete and the display period fulfilled, the time had come to carefully dismantle the installation, but not without one last celebration.

On November 2, 2025 during the church service, the church was visited by the Taro’s Origami Senior staff and team responsible for the doves.  Senior Minister Reverend Bill Britt took the opportunity to introduce the team to the entire congregation.  They were warmly welcomed with a prolonged standing ovation as the doves were dedicated for their impending removal.

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After the church service, there was also a fantastic evening song concert presented by the Georgia Buys Choir and PRUMC Chamber Chorus.  There were wonderful opportunuties for not only the Taro’s staff, but the greater Atlanta area to take in the doves with an amazing display of vocal talent.

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This being the first time Taro had visited the Atlanta site in person, he had a chance to take it all in and discuss the project with Senior Designer and lead on the project Frank Ling.

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Ben Friesen and Frank Ling also had a chance to catch up with Eve Respess, the senior member of the congregation who spear-headed the search for the origami installation.  Then there was a wonderful gift exchange with the Taro’s team being presented with ceremonial origami pins, and the church staff receiving a shadow box of a flock of doves.

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2) PLANNING

But the doves were not simply slated for removal.  The church had actually planned for this eventuality for the last 3 years.  Over that time each and every one of the doves had been sponsored by a member of the church so that they could both help finance the artwork and also take home a piece of history once it was done. That meant that the uninstall needed to account for each dove and make sure it was preserved for the church.

Nothing is special unless it ends. – a PRUMC congregant

3) CAREFUL REMOVAL

Here’s how we actually took the installation down:

• Initial prep & safety
  On the first day after the service, the team cleared an area to hold the removed doves and prepared bins to store each piece. They also made sure there were enough ladders, hydraulic lifts, and gear for the project

• Careful removal
  Starting from the balcony — closest to the ceiling — the team began loosening the netting and lowering the doves to a reachable height. The doves were attached via thin monofilament, so it proceeded slowly to avoid tearing paper and the netting, and a length of line was clipped for each dove so each member could hang it on their own.

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• Sorting and inventory
  As doves came down, each one was inspected and cleaned.  Fortunately the climate controlled sanctuary had provided the perfect environment, including a slight breeze from the organ, so there wasn’t any dust and almost every dove was in pristine condition.

• Rigging / netting removal
  Once all doves were safely removed, the team dismantled the netting and rigging system. Because the installation had been custom-rigged for the sanctuary’s architecture, removing these components required care to avoid damaging walls, ceilings, or existing fixtures.  The church also wanted to keep the netting so that they could possibly install other installations in the future with the netting.

• Photos, memories, and a final tally
  Then for the last dove the team recorded the moment and the team gathered the origami pieces.

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4) PRESERVATION

Finally, each dove was taken down to the offices of the church so that they could emboss them with the centennial logo.  From there the team got a final dove count and packaged them for pickup.  Lastly, they also had the wonderful surprise of running into the first ever blue sample dove from over 3 years ago when the whole project started.

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There was however, one large surprise once everything settled down.  The  congregation had been so excited about the doves that they oversold them by about 400 models!  The Taro’s team eagerly spent the next 2 weeks folding the rest and making sure everyone got a handmade work of art they could hang and cherish.

5) EPILOUGE

But before everything was removed there was one other cherished memory from the week that the Taro’s team was able to create.  Throughout the year the doves were in the sanctuary, every week volunteers held tours of the space, but this time Eve asked Frank and Ben, the designers behind the project, to take the church and some guests on one last tour of the space and talk about how they brought it to life.

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They spent over an hour answering questions from members and accepting countless thanks for the work that was done.

To everyone at Peachtree Road UMC and the Atlanta community: the Taro’s team want to thank you for welcoming our flock. Taking down the doves was a bittersweet moment — but it was also a celebration of what was created together: a shared experience of beauty, hope, and human connection.  It was an absolute pleasure working on this massive once-in-a-lifetime project.

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