Nabila Alibhai: Why people of different faiths are painting their houses of worship yellow
Nabila Alibhai: Por que pessoas de diferentes religiões estão pintando os lugares religiosos de amarelo
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
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
can either be to contract
pode ser nos contrairmos
hold on to each other,
e mantermos uns aos outros,
goes into overdrive
that we no longer engage with.
com os quais não nos relacionamos mais
and we lose empathy.
e perdemos a empatia.
about a group of people
sobre um grupo de pessoas
challenge of terrorism
where strangers connect in solidarity.
desconhecidas unem-se de forma solidária.
as irrational divisions began as a child.
sem razão começou em minha infância.
Kenyan Muslim of Indian origin,
quenianos de origem indiana,
um só casamento
marriage in my family
comunidade religiosa.
to do with colonialism?
of the same public spaces with others.
muitos espaços públicos com os outros.
and they drove my career choices.
e marcaram minhas opções de carreira.
in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed.
e na Tanzânia foram bombardeadas.
a caminho do Oriente Médio
to the Middle East
encontrar ambientes inseguros de trabalho,
to find insecure environments to work in,
como a era do terrorismo.
as the time of terrorism.
when 9/11 happened,
durante os atentados de 11 de setembro,
to Kenya to work with refugees
para trabalhar com refugiados.
no Paquistão e no Afeganistão.
a importância dos espaços físicos
to Nairobi from Afghanistan.
em Nairóbi, do Afeganistão.
had besieged Westgate shopping center,
o centro comercial de Westgate,
in a day of utter horror.
em um dia de absoluto terror.
was beginning to change,
estava começando a mudar
more like the fear and terror-weary
em que eu havia trabalhado.
in fear-driven ways.
guiada pelo medo.
mais barreiras, mais segurança.
an erosion of human connection.
nas relações humanas.
religious lines are deepening,
estão se aprofundando,
how much we have in common.
do quanto temos em comum.
our confidence in humanity
nossa confiança na humanidade,
de forma corajosa e visível.
a group of people in Nairobi
em Nairóbi para imaginar o que fazer:
artists, development workers.
do desenvolvimento.
our challenge as threefold:
from the narrative of terrorism
da narrativa do terrorismo
of the people that live there;
beyond race, tribe or religion
além de etnia, tribo ou religião
transcend our differences;
nossas diferenças;
that would help restore empathy
para ajudar a restabelecer a empatia,
was an artist and architect,
o artista e arquiteto Yazmany Arboleda.
in other parts of the world
em outras partes do mundo
em ambientes urbanos
and spectacular ways.
bonitas e espetaculares.
of different faiths
each other's houses of worship,
religiosos uns dos outros,
the true essence of their faith,
a verdadeira essência da fé,
in kindness, generosity and friendship.
na bondade, generosidade e amizade.
between houses of worship
religiosos dentro de um bairro,
e redes de pessoas
a paintbrush with other neighbors,
um pincel com outros vizinhos,
não apenas com as mentes,
and with their hearts.
sculptures in the landscape
esculturas na paisagem,
from very different backgrounds
de diferentes origens
began approaching houses of worship:
imediatamente aos lugares religiosos:
to more than 60 rabbis,
visitamos mais de 60 rabinos,
por uma pandemia mundial de medo,
by a global pandemic of fear
with the hierarchy of decision-making
que toma as decisões
would have to make the decision.
teria que tomar a decisão.
to the archbishop.
ao arcebispo e ao Vaticano.
the people that pay for the building
as pessoas que pagam pelo prédio,
and the painting of the buildings
missionária e doadora
of missionary and donor dependence
unconditional civic action,
would keep asking us
continuava nos pedindo
e dizendo-lhes que os apreciávamos,
we wouldn't be here.
não estaríamos lá.
painfully late in the game
is code for getting paid to participate.
significava ser pago para participar.
is it really faith?"
asking the question,
asking the question,
was the perceived risk of standing apart.
era o risco visível de estar separados.
that flat-out refused to participate
definitivamente a participar
drawing attention to itself
a atenção para si mesma
that also feared becoming a target.
that pledged to participate.
que se comprometeram a participar.
and reinforced it with their own meaning.
e o reforçaram com significado próprio.
that they're not terrorists.
ao mundo que não eram terroristas.
through their doors to ask questions.
às pessoas para fazer perguntas.
entre a geração mais antiga e a mais nova,
and the younger generation,
enfrentam neste momento.
many faiths are grappling with right now.
to build neighborhood solidarity
construir a solidariedade na vizinhança
um líder islâmico disse de uma bela forma:
through their congregations
por meio das congregações e do rádio.
stepped forward and helped
foram em frente e ajudaram
de organizações da sociedade civil.
civil society organizations.
a thousand liters of yellow paint
mil litros de tinta amarela,
in what they now call "optimistic yellow."
chamada de "amarelo otimista".
joined forces with a university
forças com uma universidade
de bate-papos no Twitter
on issues of faith,
in the context of religion,
no contexto da religião,
and tribe and nation,
tribos e nações,
and in the younger generation.
mais velha e na mais nova.
was launched at a gallery event
em um evento de uma galeria
of gallerygoers
variedade de galeristas,
and artists and businesspeople.
e empresários.
picking up a paintbrush,
of the conversation and connection
muito diálogo e conexão,
ao lado dos cristãos,
and painted a church yellow,
e pintaram uma igreja de amarelo,
performed while we painted.
apresentações enquanto pintávamos.
did features on Colour in Faith
destacou o "Color in Faith"
as a way of bringing communities together.
como uma forma de unir as comunidades.
nas redes sociais cresceram,
continued to stay in touch.
politics with a platform of peace,
com uma intenção de paz,
as far as Argentina and the US
na Argentina e nos EUA,
this idea, spreads across the world,
essa ideia, espalhe-se por todo o mundo,
those who mean well in yellow.
o amarelo para aqueles que procuram o bem.
neighborhoods together,
that when threats come knocking,
sift fact from rumor
can come together and send a message
pode se unir e enviar uma mensagem
that wish to do us harm.
que desejam nos fazer mal.
que a esperança também é.
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