Marc Bamuthi Joseph: What soccer can teach us about freedom
Marc Bamuthi Joseph: Lo que el futbol nos puede enseñar sobre la libertad
TED Fellow Marc Bamuthi Joseph is a curator of words, ideas and protagonists. His bold, poetically-driven work investigates social issues and cultural identity. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
rising up against gravity
izarme desafiando la gravedad
del peso de mi cuerpo.
on the soccer pitch.
en el campo de futbol.
to revive the dead,
para revivir los muertos
at a contemporary arts center,
en un centro de arte contemporáneo,
that doesn't bleed or sweat or cry.
que no sangra, suda o llora.
are going to live in a time
van a vivir en un tiempo
are fresh water and empathy.
serán el agua fresca y la empatía.
y las esculturas majestuosas
and majestic sculpture
to turn that inspiration
para convertir esa inspiración
who loves sports.
que ama los deportes.
my latest piece /peh-LO-tah/
mi última obra /peh-LO-tah/
was a means for my own immigrant family
era un medio para mi familia inmigrante
and normality and community
y normalidad y comunidad
and assault on immigrant identity,
y ataques a la identidad inmigrante,
as an affirmational tool
como herramienta de afirmación
and immigrant kids,
primera generación y niños inmigrantes,
movement patterns on the field
los patrones de movimiento en el campo
across social and political borders.
en grupos sociales y frontera.
play on endangered ground.
juegan en un campo peligroso.
that they use to plan the next goal
que utilizan para planear el siguiente gol
to navigate the next block.
para navegar la siguiente cuadra.
Hablamos de ella
and even divisively,
e incluso de manera divisoria,
"build this wall,"
"construyamos este muro,"
that are beautifully designed
hermosamente diseñados
back to something that exists inside
de que existe algo dentro
part soccer tournament,
y parte torneo de futbol,
field of inquiry
de /peh-LO-tah/
political action for young people.
para jóvenes basada en los deportes.
"Moving and Passing."
"Moviendo y pasando."
site-specific performance
el rendimiento específico por área
for the urgent question
una metáfora para la pregunta urgente
entre la juventud inmigrante.
a 15-year-old kid from Honduras
15 años de Honduras
to two Nigerian immigrants.
en DC de dos inmigrantes nigerianos.
dribbling through cones
la pelota entre conos
a marching band comes down the field.
una banda de marcha baja al campo.
with the exuberance of culture,
con la exuberancia de cultura,
emoción en el juego
políticamente a través del arte,
would explain Black Lives Matter,
explicaba Black Lives Matter,
would explain gun control,
el control de armas,
is the perfect metaphor
es la metáfora perfecta
excepcionalidad estadounidense.
la posiciones en el campo,
nuestras propias libertades.
that we can all agree to do together.
todos estamos de acuerdo de hacer juntos.
of this spinning ball.
de esta bola que gira.
to connect the joy of the game
in sight of a better position.
se movieron al ver una mejor posición.
to connect their families' histories
conectar las historias de sus familias
after the ball beats the goalie,
después de que la pelota vence al portero,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Marc Bamuthi Joseph - Arts activist, spoken word artistTED Fellow Marc Bamuthi Joseph is a curator of words, ideas and protagonists. His bold, poetically-driven work investigates social issues and cultural identity.
Why you should listen
Marc Bamuthi Joseph is a steadfast believer in empathy as the most valuable currency in building community, and he seeks to spark curiosity and dialogue about freedom, compassion and fearlessness through pioneering arts stewardship and education. A 2017 TEDGlobal Fellow, Bamuthi graced the cover of Smithsonian Magazine as one of America's Top Young Innovators in the Arts and Sciences; artistically directed HBO's "Russell Simmons presents Brave New Voices"; and is an inaugural recipient of the United States Artists Rockefeller Fellowship, which annually recognizes 50 of the country’s greatest living artists. Dance Magazine named him a Top Influencer in 2017.
Bamuthi's evening-length work, red black and GREEN: a blues, was nominated for a 2013 Bessie Award for "Outstanding Production (of a work stretching the boundaries of a traditional form)" and he has won numerous grants including from the National Endowment for the Arts and Creative Capital Foundation. His noted work /peh-LO-tah/ is inspired by soccer and Bamuthi's first generation American experience, intersecting global economics, cross-border fan culture and the politics of joy.
Bamuthi is the founding Program Director of the non-profit Youth Speaks, and he is a co-founder of Life is Living, a national series of one-day festivals which activate under-resourced parks and affirm peaceful urban life. His essays have been published in Harvard Education Press; he has lectured at more than 200 colleges, has carried adjunct professorships at Stanford and Lehigh, among others, and currently serves as Chief of Program and Pedagogy at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.
Marc Bamuthi Joseph | Speaker | TED.com