Problem connecting to Twitter. Please try again.
Problem connecting to Twitter. Please try again.
Problem connecting to Twitter. Please try again.
Problem connecting to Twitter. Please try again.
Problem connecting to Twitter. Please try again.
Street art with a message of hope and peace
-
0:01 - 0:05In 2012, when I painted
the minaret of Jara Mosque -
0:05 - 0:08in my hometown of Gabés,
in the south of Tunisia, -
0:08 - 0:13I never thought that graffiti would bring
so much attention to a city. -
0:13 - 0:17At the beginning, I was just looking
for a wall in my hometown, -
0:17 - 0:20and it happened that the minaret
was built in '94. -
0:21 - 0:26And for 18 years, those 57 meters
of concrete stayed grey. -
0:27 - 0:30When I met the imam for the first time,
and I told him what I wanted to do, -
0:30 - 0:33he was like, "Thank God you finally came,"
-
0:33 - 0:36and he told me that for years
he was waiting for somebody -
0:36 - 0:37to do something on it.
-
0:37 - 0:42The most amazing thing about this imam
is that he didn't ask me anything -- -
0:42 - 0:45neither a sketch,
or what I was going to write. -
0:46 - 0:49In every work that I create,
I write messages -
0:49 - 0:53with my style of calligraffiti --
a mix of calligraphy and graffiti. -
0:54 - 0:55I use quotes or poetry.
-
0:56 - 0:59For the minaret, I thought that
the most relevant message -
0:59 - 1:02to be put on a mosque
should come from the Quran, -
1:02 - 1:03so I picked this verse:
-
1:03 - 1:06"Oh humankind, we have created you
from a male and a female, -
1:06 - 1:10and made you people and tribe,
so you may know each other." -
1:10 - 1:13It was a universal call for peace,
tolerance, and acceptance -
1:13 - 1:17coming from the side that we don't usually
portray in a good way in the media. -
1:18 - 1:21I was amazed to see how the local
community reacted to the painting, -
1:21 - 1:26and how it made them proud to see
the minaret getting so much attention -
1:26 - 1:28from international press
all around the world. -
1:29 - 1:32For the imam, it was not
just the painting; -
1:32 - 1:33it was really deeper than that.
-
1:33 - 1:37He hoped that this minaret would become
a monument for the city, -
1:37 - 1:40and attract people
to this forgotten place of Tunisia. -
1:41 - 1:43The universality of the message,
-
1:43 - 1:45the political context
of Tunisia at this time, -
1:45 - 1:49and the fact that I was writing
Quran in a graffiti way -
1:49 - 1:50were not insignificant.
-
1:50 - 1:52It reunited the community.
-
1:54 - 1:57Bringing people, future generations,
-
1:57 - 2:00together through Arabic calligraphy
-
2:00 - 2:01is what I do.
-
2:01 - 2:04Writing messages is
the essence of my artwork. -
2:05 - 2:08What is funny, actually, is that
even Arabic-speaking people -
2:08 - 2:12really need to focus a lot
to decipher what I'm writing. -
2:13 - 2:16You don't need to know
the meaning to feel the piece. -
2:16 - 2:20I think that Arabic script touches
your soul before it reaches your eyes. -
2:20 - 2:23There is a beauty in it
that you don't need to translate. -
2:24 - 2:26Arabic script speaks to anyone, I believe;
-
2:26 - 2:29to you, to you, to you, to anybody,
-
2:29 - 2:31and then when you get the meaning,
-
2:31 - 2:33you feel connected to it.
-
2:33 - 2:36I always make sure to write messages
-
2:36 - 2:38that are relevant to the place
where I'm painting, -
2:38 - 2:41but messages that have
a universal dimension, -
2:41 - 2:44so anybody around the world
can connect to it. -
2:45 - 2:47I was born and raised in France, in Paris,
-
2:47 - 2:51and I started learning how to write
and read Arabic when I was 18. -
2:52 - 2:55Today I only write messages in Arabic.
-
2:55 - 2:58One of the reasons
this is so important to me, -
2:58 - 3:02is because of all the reaction that
I've experienced all around the world. -
3:04 - 3:08In Rio de Janeiro, I translated
this Portuguese poem -
3:08 - 3:10from Gabriela Tôrres Barbosa,
-
3:10 - 3:13who was giving an homage
to the poor people of the favela, -
3:13 - 3:15and then I painted it on the rooftop.
-
3:15 - 3:18The local community were really
intrigued by what I was doing, -
3:18 - 3:22but as soon as I gave them
the meaning of the calligraphy, -
3:22 - 3:25they thanked me, as they felt
connected to the piece. -
3:27 - 3:29In South Africa, in Cape Town,
-
3:29 - 3:32the local community of Philippi
-
3:32 - 3:35offered me the only
concrete wall of the slum. -
3:35 - 3:37It was a school, and I wrote on it
-
3:37 - 3:39a quote from Nelson Mandela,
-
3:39 - 3:41saying, "[in Arabic],"
-
3:41 - 3:44which means, "It seems
impossible until it's done." -
3:44 - 3:48Then this guy came to me and said,
"Man, why you don't write in English?" -
3:48 - 3:52and I replied to him, "I would consider
your concern legit if you asked me -
3:52 - 3:54why I didn't write in Zulu."
-
3:55 - 3:57In Paris, once, there was this event,
-
3:57 - 4:01and someone gave his wall to be painted.
-
4:02 - 4:04And when he saw I was painting in Arabic,
-
4:04 - 4:08he got so mad -- actually, hysterical --
and he asked for the wall to be erased. -
4:08 - 4:10I was mad and disappointed.
-
4:10 - 4:14But a week later, the organizer
of the event asked me to come back, -
4:14 - 4:18and he told me that there was a wall
right in front of this guy's house. -
4:18 - 4:19So, this guy --
-
4:19 - 4:21(Laughter)
-
4:21 - 4:24like, was forced to see it every day.
-
4:24 - 4:27At the beginning, I was going
to write, "[In Arabic]," -
4:27 - 4:29which means, "In your face," but --
-
4:29 - 4:31(Laughter)
-
4:31 - 4:35I decided to be smarter
and I wrote, "[In Arabic]," -
4:35 - 4:36which means, "Open your heart."
-
4:37 - 4:40I'm really proud of my culture,
-
4:40 - 4:46and I'm trying to be an ambassador
of it through my artwork. -
4:46 - 4:51And I hope that I can break
the stereotypes we all know, -
4:51 - 4:52with the beauty of Arabic script.
-
4:53 - 4:59Today, I don't write the translation
of the message anymore on the wall. -
4:59 - 5:03I don't want the poetry
of the calligraphy to be broken, -
5:03 - 5:06as it's art and you can appreciate it
without knowing the meaning, -
5:06 - 5:09as you can enjoy any music
from other countries. -
5:10 - 5:13Some people see that
as a rejection or a closed door, -
5:13 - 5:16but for me, it's more an invitation --
-
5:16 - 5:19to my language,
to my culture, and to my art. -
5:19 - 5:20Thank you.
-
5:20 - 5:23(Applause)
- Title:
- Street art with a message of hope and peace
- Speaker:
- eL Seed
- Description:
-
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 05:39
Cynthia Betubiza edited English subtitles for Street art with a message of hope and peace | ||
Cynthia Betubiza approved English subtitles for Street art with a message of hope and peace | ||
Cynthia Betubiza edited English subtitles for Street art with a message of hope and peace | ||
Cynthia Betubiza edited English subtitles for Street art with a message of hope and peace | ||
Cynthia Betubiza edited English subtitles for Street art with a message of hope and peace | ||
Camille Martínez accepted English subtitles for Street art with a message of hope and peace | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for Street art with a message of hope and peace | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for Street art with a message of hope and peace |
English subtitles
Revisions Compare revisions
-
Revision 9 EditedCynthia Betubiza
-
Revision 8 EditedCynthia Betubiza
-
Revision 7 EditedCamille Martínez
-
Revision 6 UploadedCamille Martínez
-
Revision 5 EditedJoseph Geni
-
Revision 4 EditedJoseph Geni
-
Revision 3 EditedJoseph Geni
-
Revision 2 EditedJoseph Geni
-
Amara Bot