Nabila Alibhai: Why people of different faiths are painting their houses of worship yellow
Nabila Alibhai: Por qué personas de diferentes religiones pintan de amarillo sus centros de culto
Nabila Alibhai leads inCOMMONS, a new cultural production lab focused on invigorating public spaces and inspiring collective responsibility for our cultural and environmental heritage. Full bio
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can either be to contract
puede ser contraernos
hold on to each other,
goes into overdrive
that we no longer engage with.
con los que ya no nos relacionamos.
and we lose empathy.
y perdemos empatía.
about a group of people
sobre un grupo de personas
challenge of terrorism
where strangers connect in solidarity.
los extraños se conectan solidariamente.
as irrational divisions began as a child.
irracionales comenzó en mi infancia.
Kenyan Muslim of Indian origin,
keniana musulmana de origen indio,
marriage in my family
en mi familia
comunidad religiosa.
to do with colonialism?
of the same public spaces with others.
muchos espacios públicos con otros.
and they drove my career choices.
y marcaron mis opciones de carrera.
in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed.
en Kenia y Tanzania fueron bombardeadas.
de camino a Oriente Medio
to the Middle East
to find insecure environments to work in,
entornos inseguros para trabajar,
cambiando rápidamente
as the time of terrorism.
como la era del terrorismo.
when 9/11 happened,
cuando ocurrió el 11-S,
to Kenya to work with refugees
para trabajar con refugiados
to Nairobi from Afghanistan.
a Nairobi desde Afganistán.
asediado el centro comercial Westgate,
had besieged Westgate shopping center,
in a day of utter horror.
en un día de horror absoluto.
was beginning to change,
estaba empezando a cambiar,
more like the fear and terror-weary
en el miedo y el terror
en las que había trabajado.
in fear-driven ways.
en las formas del miedo.
an erosion of human connection.
una erosión de la conexión humana.
religious lines are deepening,
se están profundizando,
how much we have in common.
de cuánto tenemos en común.
our confidence in humanity
nuestra confianza en la humanidad
y visiblemente juntos.
a group of people in Nairobi
a un grupo de personas en Nairobi
artists, development workers.
artistas, trabajadores del desarrollo.
our challenge as threefold:
from the narrative of terrorism
de la narrativa del terrorismo
of the people that live there;
que viven allí;
beyond race, tribe or religion
de la etnia, la tribu o la religión
transcend our differences;
nuestras diferencias;
that would help restore empathy
que ayudara a restaurar la empatía,
was an artist and architect,
fue el artista y arquitecto
in other parts of the world
en otras partes del mundo
and spectacular ways.
y espectaculares.
of different faiths
de diferentes credos
each other's houses of worship,
las casas de adoración del otro,
the true essence of their faith,
la verdadera esencia de su fe,
in kindness, generosity and friendship.
en la bondad, la generosidad y la amistad.
between houses of worship
a paintbrush with other neighbors,
un pincel con otros vecinos,
and with their hearts.
sculptures in the landscape
en esculturas en el paisaje
from very different backgrounds
de diferentes orígenes
began approaching houses of worship:
fuimos a las casas de culto:
to more than 60 rabbis,
a más de 60 rabinos,
by a global pandemic of fear
debido a una pandemia mundial de miedo
with the hierarchy of decision-making
que toma las decisiones
would have to make the decision.
tendría que tomar la decisión.
to the archbishop.
al arzobispo.
the people that pay for the building
la gente que paga por el edificio
and the painting of the buildings
y la pintura de los edificios
of missionary and donor dependence
de misioneros y mecenas
unconditional civic action,
incondicional,
would keep asking us
seguía pidiéndonos
we wouldn't be here.
painfully late in the game
dolorosamente tarde en el juego
is code for getting paid to participate.
significa recibir un pago por participar.
is it really faith?"
¿es realmente fe?"
asking the question,
planteando la pregunta:
asking the question,
was the perceived risk of standing apart.
el riesgo percibido de estar separados.
that flat-out refused to participate
a participar
drawing attention to itself
sobre sí misma
that also feared becoming a target.
también temía ser un blanco.
that pledged to participate.
que se comprometieron a participar.
and reinforced it with their own meaning.
y lo resignificaron.
that they're not terrorists.
que no son terroristas.
through their doors to ask questions.
a la gente para hacer preguntas.
and the younger generation,
many faiths are grappling with right now.
muchas religiones ahora mismo.
to build neighborhood solidarity
construir solidaridad vecinal
por qué el amarillo,
a través de sus congregaciones
through their congregations
stepped forward and helped
dieron un paso adelante y ayudaron
civil society organizations.
a organizaciones de la sociedad civil.
a thousand liters of yellow paint
mil litros de pintura amarilla,
in what they now call "optimistic yellow."
llamada "amarillo optimista".
joined forces with a university
aunó fuerzas con una universidad
on issues of faith,
en cuestiones de fe,
in the context of religion,
en el contexto de la religión,
and tribe and nation,
y en la tribu y la nación,
and in the younger generation.
y en la generación más joven.
was launched at a gallery event
en un evento de una galería
of gallerygoers
de galeristas
and artists and businesspeople.
y artistas y empresarios.
picking up a paintbrush,
of the conversation and connection
de la conversación y la conexión
al lado de los cristianos
and painted a church yellow,
y pintaron una iglesia de amarillo,
performed while we painted.
actuaban mientras pintábamos.
did features on Colour in Faith
destacó "Coloreando la fe"
as a way of bringing communities together.
una manera de unir a las comunidades.
en redes sociales estallaron,
continued to stay in touch.
politics with a platform of peace,
con una plataforma de paz,
as far as Argentina and the US
en Argentina y EE.UU.
this idea, spreads across the world,
esta idea, se extienda por el mundo,
those who mean well in yellow.
en amarillo a quienes buscan el bien.
neighborhoods together,
that when threats come knocking,
cuando vengan las amenazas,
sift fact from rumor
los hechos de los rumores
can come together and send a message
puede reunirse y enviar un mensaje
that wish to do us harm.
que desean hacernos daño.
también lo es la esperanza.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nabila Alibhai - Place-makerNabila Alibhai leads inCOMMONS, a new cultural production lab focused on invigorating public spaces and inspiring collective responsibility for our cultural and environmental heritage.
Why you should listen
Nabila Alibhai is the founder of inCOMMONS, an organization that develops and invigorates public spaces and builds collective leadership. inCOMMONS's New York-based sister company, limeSHIFT, uses the same principles and embeds artists into workplaces to make them more happy, purposeful and creative. She recently authored "How Colour Replaces Fear," a chapter in the book Art & The City, about art that heals divisions and unites communities.
Currently, inCOMMONS's main projects are Colour in Faith, a neighborhood solidarity project through art; building an inclusive sculptural space with Nairobi City County; experimenting with art and healing; and looking for partners to create urban sweet spaces for our greatest gardeners: (pollinators) bees, hummingbirds and butterflies. limeSHIFT is working with New York City's Carnegie Hall on a traveling installation called Espejismo.
Alibhai had a 13-year career working on different aspects of conflict transformation from communications to health and resilience. She has worked on projects in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania, the United States and Switzerland. She has held positions in the Aga Khan Development Network, the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration. As a Research Fellow in MIT's Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies, she advanced her efforts to influence health, security and community solidarity through public spaces. She is now based in her home country of Kenya.
Nabila Alibhai | Speaker | TED.com