Nabila Alibhai: Why people of different faiths are painting their houses of worship yellow
Nabila Alibhai: Pourquoi des croyants de confessions différentes repeignent leurs lieux de culte en jaune
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
soit par le repli sur soi
hold on to each other,
dans le monde ?
goes into overdrive
that we no longer engage with.
desquels nous sommes coupés.
and we lose empathy.
et nous perdons notre empathie.
about a group of people
challenge of terrorism
le fléau du terrorisme,
where strangers connect in solidarity.
dans la solidarité.
as irrational divisions began as a child.
à m'obséder quand j'étais petite.
Kenyan Muslim of Indian origin,
de quatrième génération,
marriage in my family
to do with colonialism?
of the same public spaces with others.
pas assez d'espace public avec les autres.
qu'ils ont inspiré mon choix de carrière.
and they drove my career choices.
in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed.
au Kenya et en Tanzanie furent bombardées.
to the Middle East
je pris la route du Moyen-Orient
to find insecure environments to work in,
des endroits dangereux pour travailler,
as the time of terrorism.
when 9/11 happened,
lors des attentats du 11 septembre
to Kenya to work with refugees
travailler avec les réfugiés,
to Nairobi from Afghanistan.
depuis l'Afghanistan,
had besieged Westgate shopping center,
un centre commercial
in a day of utter horror.
dans l'horreur la plus totale.
was beginning to change,
more like the fear and terror-weary
la rapprochaient toujours plus des villes
in fear-driven ways.
à évoluer dans la peur.
plus de barrières,
an erosion of human connection.
que les rapports humains s'érodent.
religious lines are deepening,
how much we have in common.
de ce que nous avons en commun.
our confidence in humanity
notre confiance en l'humanité
et de façon visible.
a group of people in Nairobi
j'ai constitué un groupe à Nairobi
artists, development workers.
artistes et travailleurs humanitaires.
our challenge as threefold:
selon trois axes :
from the narrative of terrorism
des récits de terrorisme
of the people that live there;
beyond race, tribe or religion
sans ethnie, tribu ou religion
transcend our differences;
that would help restore empathy
pour aider à restituer l'empathie
was an artist and architect,
était l'artiste et architecte
in other parts of the world
dans d'autres coins du monde
and spectacular ways.
magnifiques et spectaculaires.
of different faiths
de confessions diverses
each other's houses of worship,
leurs lieux de culte mutuels,
synagogues et églises,
the true essence of their faith,
à repenser au fondement de leur foi,
in kindness, generosity and friendship.
dans la bonté, la générosité et l'amitié.
between houses of worship
entre les lieux de culte
des îlots de stabilité
a paintbrush with other neighbors,
avec d'autres voisins,
non seulement avec leur tête
and with their hearts.
et leur cœur.
sculptures in the landscape
seraient des sculptures dans le paysage
from very different backgrounds
aux parcours différents
« Colour in Faith ».
began approaching houses of worship:
et contacté aussitôt les lieux de culte :
mosquées et synagogues.
to more than 60 rabbis,
plus de 60 rabbins
by a global pandemic of fear
vient renforcer les préjugés
with the hierarchy of decision-making
à la hiérarchie des décideurs
would have to make the decision.
devait prendre la décision.
to the archbishop.
the people that pay for the building
ceux qui financent le bâtiment,
and the painting of the buildings
à la dépendance historique
of missionary and donor dependence
unconditional civic action,
civique inconditionnelle,
would keep asking us
nous demandait sans cesse
we wouldn't be here.
on ne serait pas là.
painfully late in the game
douloureusement ensuite
is code for getting paid to participate.
était un code pour dire être payé.
is it really faith?"
est-ce vraiment de la foi ? »
asking the question,
avec la question :
asking the question,
was the perceived risk of standing apart.
était le risque de se faire remarquer.
that flat-out refused to participate
a refusé en bloc de participer
drawing attention to itself
that also feared becoming a target.
d'être prise pour cible.
that pledged to participate.
se sont engagés à participer.
and reinforced it with their own meaning.
en ajoutant leur propre signification.
qu'ils n'ont rien de terroristes.
that they're not terrorists.
through their doors to ask questions.
à ceux qui avaient des questions.
and the younger generation,
many faiths are grappling with right now.
bon nombre de religions actuellement.
to build neighborhood solidarity
de créer de la solidarité de quartier
dues aux élections.
uniformément.
through their congregations
parmi leurs fidèles
stepped forward and helped
se sont engagés et nous ont aidés
civil society organizations.
en convoquant des organisations civiles.
a thousand liters of yellow paint
de milliers de litres de peinture jaune
in what they now call "optimistic yellow."
et désormais appelée « jaune optimiste ».
joined forces with a university
s'est associé à l'université
on issues of faith,
sur les questions de foi,
in the context of religion,
dans le cadre religieux
and tribe and nation,
les tribus et la nation,
and in the younger generation.
et dans la jeune génération.
was launched at a gallery event
dans une galerie
of gallerygoers
un improbable mélange d'habitués,
and artists and businesspeople.
et d'hommes d'affaires.
picking up a paintbrush,
of the conversation and connection
de l'échange et de la connexion
commencé à peindre.
and painted a church yellow,
pour peindre une église en jaune,
performed while we painted.
alors que nous peignions.
à Mombasa.
did features on Colour in Faith
a couvert « Colour in Faith »
as a way of bringing communities together.
un moyen de rapprocher les communautés.
nos pages se sont illuminées,
continued to stay in touch.
politics with a platform of peace,
avec un programme de paix,
jusqu'en Argentine et aux États-Unis
as far as Argentina and the US
au Mali et au Rwanda
this idea, spreads across the world,
se répandre dans le monde,
those who mean well in yellow.
la bienveillance d'une lumière jaune.
neighborhoods together,
entre voisins,
that when threats come knocking,
si des menaces frappent à la porte,
sift fact from rumor
le vrai du faux
can come together and send a message
peut se réunir pour passer un message
that wish to do us harm.
qui veulent nous nuire.
l'est tout autant.
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