ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Wanuri Kahiu - Filmmaker, writer
Wanuri Kahiu wants to curate, commission and create art that celebrates fun, fierce and frivolous Africa.

Why you should listen

Born in Nairobi, TED Fellow Wanuri Kahiu is part of the new generation of African filmmakers. Her films have received international acclaim and have been screened in more than 100 film festivals around the world. To date, Kahiu has written and directed six films and is working on her second feature length film.

Kahiu's first feature film, From a Whisper, based on the real events surrounding the 1998 twin bombings of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, won Best Narrative Feature in 2010 at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles as well as five awards at the African Movie Academy Award, including Best Director and Best Screenplay.

In 2009 Wanuri produced TV documentary For Our Land about Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai for MNET, a pan-African cable station. In 2010, her short science fiction Pumzi premiered at Sundance and went on to win best short film at Cannes and the silver at Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia. Pumzi also earned Kahiu the Citta di Venezia 2010 award in Venice, Italy. She is currently in post production on her second feature film, Rafiki, as well as a feature length documentary Ger about UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Ger Duany.

More profile about the speaker
Wanuri Kahiu | Speaker | TED.com
TED2017

Wanuri Kahiu: Fun, fierce and fantastical African art

Wanuri Kahiu: Arte africana alegre, vibrante e fantástica

Filmed:
894,360 views

Estamos muito acostumados às narrativas sobre a África serem sobre guerra, pobreza e devastação, diz a bolsista TED Wanuri Kahiu. Onde está a alegria? Apresentando "AfroBubbleGum", uma arte africana vibrante, iluminada e sem agenda política. Repense o valor de tudo que não é sério, enquanto Kahiu explica por que ela precisa de arte que capture toda a gama de experiências humanas para contar as histórias da África.
- Filmmaker, writer
Wanuri Kahiu wants to curate, commission and create art that celebrates fun, fierce and frivolous Africa. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
So, my mother's a pediatrician,
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Minha mãe é pediatra
00:15
and when I was young,
she'd tell the craziest stories
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e, quando eu era jovem,
ela contava as histórias mais loucas,
00:19
that combined science
with her overactive imagination.
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combinando ciência
e sua criatividade superimaginativa.
00:23
One of the stories she told
was that if you eat a lot of salt,
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Uma das histórias que ela me contou
é que, se você comer muito sal,
00:27
all of the blood rushes up your legs,
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todo seu sangue sobe por suas pernas,
00:31
through your body,
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através do seu corpo,
00:32
and shoots out the top of your head,
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e atinge o topo da sua cabeça,
00:34
killing you instantly.
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matando você instantaneamente.
00:36
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
Ela chamou isso
de "pressão alta do sangue".
00:37
She called it "high blood pressure."
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00:39
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
00:41
This was my first experience
with science fiction,
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Essa foi minha primeira experiência
com ficção científica,
00:44
and I loved it.
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e eu amei.
00:45
So when I started to write
my own science fiction and fantasy,
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Então, quando comecei a escrever
ficção científica e fantasia,
00:49
I was surprised that it
was considered un-African.
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fiquei surpresa por elas serem
consideradas não africanas.
00:52
So naturally, I asked, what is African?
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Então, naturalmente,
perguntei: o que é africano?
00:54
And this is what I know so far:
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E isso é o que eu sei até agora...
00:57
Africa is important.
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A África é importante.
01:00
Africa is the future.
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A África é o futuro.
01:01
It is, though.
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Ela é, apesar de tudo.
01:03
And Africa is a serious place
where only serious things happen.
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E a África é um lugar sério,
onde só coisas sérias acontecem.
01:07
So when I present my work somewhere,
someone will always ask,
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Então, quando apresento meu trabalho
em algum lugar, alguém sempre pergunta:
01:12
"What's so important about it?
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"O que há de tão importante nisso?
01:14
How does it deal with real African issues
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Como isso se relaciona
com problemas africanos reais,
01:17
like war, poverty, devastation or AIDS?"
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como guerra, devastação, pobreza ou AIDS?"
01:22
And it doesn't.
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E não se relaciona.
01:24
My work is about Nairobi pop bands
that want to go to space
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Meu trabalho é sobre bandas pop
de Nairóbi que querem ir para o espaço
01:29
or about seven-foot-tall robots
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ou sobre robôs de dois metros de altura
01:32
that fall in love.
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que se apaixonam.
01:34
It's nothing incredibly important.
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Não é nada incrivelmente importante.
01:37
It's just fun, fierce and frivolous,
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Só é divertido, vibrante e fútil,
01:41
as frivolous as bubble gum --
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tão fútil quanto um chiclete:
01:43
"AfroBubbleGum."
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"AfroBubbleGum".
01:46
So I'm not saying that
agenda art isn't important;
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Não estou dizendo que arte engajada
não é importante;
01:49
I'm the chairperson of a charity
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Sou dirigente de uma
instituição de caridade
01:52
that deals with films and theaters
that write about HIV and radicalization
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que lida com filmes e peças de teatro
que falam sobre HIV, radicalismo
01:58
and female genital mutilation.
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e mutilação genital feminina.
02:01
It's vital and important art,
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É uma arte vital e importante,
02:03
but it cannot be the only art
that comes out of the continent.
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mas não pode ser a única arte
vinda do nosso continente.
02:08
We have to tell more stories
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Temos que contar mais histórias vibrantes.
02:10
that are vibrant.
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02:13
The danger of the single story
is still being realized.
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O perigo da história única
ainda está sendo entendido.
Talvez seja por causa do financiamento.
02:18
And maybe it's because of the funding.
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02:19
A lot of art is still dependent
on developmental aid.
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Muita arte ainda depende
de ajuda desenvolvimentista.
02:23
So art becomes a tool for agenda.
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Então a arte se torna uma ferramenta
para atingir objetivos.
02:27
Or maybe it's because we've only seen
one image of ourselves for so long
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Ou talvez porque, durante muito tempo,
só vimos uma imagem nossa,
02:32
that that's all we know how to create.
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que é só isso que sabemos criar.
02:34
Whatever the reason, we need a new way,
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Seja qual for a razão,
precisamos de um novo caminho,
02:38
and AfroBubbleGum is one approach.
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e AfroBubbleGum é uma abordagem.
02:40
It's the advocacy of art for art's sake.
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É a defesa da arte em benefício da arte.
02:44
It's the advocacy of art
that is not policy-driven
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É a defesa da arte
que não tem fins políticos,
02:47
or agenda-driven
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não é engajada,
02:49
or based on education,
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nem tem o intuito de educar,
02:51
just for the sake of imagination:
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apenas pelo benefício da imaginação:
02:54
AfroBubbleGum art.
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arte AfroBubbleGum.
02:56
And we can't all be AfroBubbleGumists.
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E não podemos ser todos
"AfroBubbleGumistas".
02:59
We have to judge our work
for its potential poverty porn pitfalls.
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Precisamos julgar nosso trabalho por seu
potencial em ser uma armadilha da pobreza.
03:03
We have to have tests
that are similar to the Bechdel test,
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Precisamos de testes
similares ao teste de Bechdel.
03:09
and ask questions like:
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E fazer perguntas como:
03:11
Are two or more Africans
in this piece of fiction healthy?
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essa obra de ficção tem
dois ou mais africanos saudáveis?
03:17
Are those same Africans financially stable
and not in need of saving?
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Esses mesmos africanos têm estabilidade
financeira e não necessitam de salvação?
03:23
Are they having fun and enjoying life?
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Eles estão se divertindo
e aproveitando a vida?
03:26
And if we can answer yes
to two or more of these questions,
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E, se conseguirmos responder sim
a duas ou mais dessas perguntas,
03:29
then surely we're AfroBubbleGumists.
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então com certeza
somos AfroBubbleGumistas.
03:32
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
03:33
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
03:38
And fun is political,
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E a alegria é política,
03:40
because imagine if we have
images of Africans who were vibrant
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porque imaginem se tivermos
imagens de africanos vibrantes,
03:44
and loving and thriving
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amorosos, prósperos
03:46
and living a beautiful, vibrant life.
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e vivendo uma vida bonita e vibrante.
03:49
What would we think of ourselves then?
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O que pensaríamos de nós mesmos?
03:51
Would we think that maybe
we're worthy of more happiness?
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Será que nos acharíamos
merecedores de mais felicidade?
03:54
Would we think of our shared humanity
through our shared joy?
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Pensaríamos em nossa
humanidade compartilhada
através de nossa alegria compartilhada?
03:59
I think of these things when I create.
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Eu penso nessas coisas quando crio.
04:01
I think of the people and the places
that give me immeasurable joy,
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Penso nas pessoas e lugares
que me dão uma alegria desmedida,
04:05
and I work to represent them.
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e trabalho para representá-los.
04:07
And that's why I write stories
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E é por isso que escrevo histórias
04:08
about futuristic girls that risk
everything to save plants
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sobre garotas futuristas
que arriscam tudo para salvar plantas
04:13
or to race camels
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ou para correr em camelos
04:15
or even just to dance,
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ou mesmo só para dançar,
04:18
to honor fun,
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para homenagear a alegria,
04:19
because my world is mostly happy.
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porque meu mundo é, sobretudo, feliz.
04:21
And I know happiness is a privilege
in this current splintered world
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E eu sei que a felicidade é um privilégio
neste mundo estilhaçado atual,
04:25
where remaining hopeful
requires diligence.
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no qual permanecer
esperançoso requer dedicação.
04:31
But maybe, if you join me
in creating, curating and commissioning
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Mas talvez, se vocês se unirem a mim
na criação, curadoria e contratação
04:36
more AfroBubbleGum art,
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de mais arte AfroBubbleGum,
04:38
there might be hope
for a different view of the world,
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possa haver esperança
de uma visão diferente do mundo,
04:41
a happy Africa view
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uma visão feliz da África, em que crianças
são estranhamente traumatizadas
04:43
where children are strangely traumatized
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04:45
by their mother's dark sense of humor,
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pelo senso de humor negro de suas mães,
04:47
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
mas também clamam por arte
alegre, vibrante e fútil
04:48
but also they're claiming fun,
fierce and frivolous art
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04:53
in the name of all things
unseriously African.
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em nome de todas as coisas africanas
que não são nada sérias.
04:58
Because we're AfroBubbleGumists
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Porque somos AfroBubbleGumistas
05:00
and there's so many more of us
than you can imagine.
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e há muitos mais de nós
do que vocês podem imaginar.
05:04
Thank you so much.
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Muito obrigada.
05:05
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Cláudia Sander
Reviewed by Genesis Quijije

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Wanuri Kahiu - Filmmaker, writer
Wanuri Kahiu wants to curate, commission and create art that celebrates fun, fierce and frivolous Africa.

Why you should listen

Born in Nairobi, TED Fellow Wanuri Kahiu is part of the new generation of African filmmakers. Her films have received international acclaim and have been screened in more than 100 film festivals around the world. To date, Kahiu has written and directed six films and is working on her second feature length film.

Kahiu's first feature film, From a Whisper, based on the real events surrounding the 1998 twin bombings of US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, won Best Narrative Feature in 2010 at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles as well as five awards at the African Movie Academy Award, including Best Director and Best Screenplay.

In 2009 Wanuri produced TV documentary For Our Land about Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai for MNET, a pan-African cable station. In 2010, her short science fiction Pumzi premiered at Sundance and went on to win best short film at Cannes and the silver at Carthage Film Festival in Tunisia. Pumzi also earned Kahiu the Citta di Venezia 2010 award in Venice, Italy. She is currently in post production on her second feature film, Rafiki, as well as a feature length documentary Ger about UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Ger Duany.

More profile about the speaker
Wanuri Kahiu | Speaker | TED.com

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