More than 100 young Afghan artists ignite Afghanistan and the world by giving away 10,000 opportunities to imagine a world of new possibilities.
This most modern art discipline—Social Sculpture / Social Architecture—will only reach fruition when every living person becomes a creator, a sculptor, or architect of the social organism. Joseph Beuys, 1973
In the midst of on-going violence, destruction and human tragedy, more than 100 Afghan artists are giving away 10,000 pink balloons to the citizens of Kabul.
The artists—filmmakers, painters, musicians, photographers and crafters of traditional arts— are participating in the largest public art installation to ever take place in Afghanistan. Today they are arming 10,000 citizens in the heart of the capital with pink balloons. Their headquarters are located in historic Park-e-Timur Shahi in the center of the city.
Yazmany Arboleda, the New York based Colombian-American artist has previously created this orchestration in India, Japan, and Kenya. In each city, the project strives to constructively engage with the local social challenges, using art as a way to bring about change. Speaking about the work, he stated “I see this project as a platform that transforms the single story of catastrophe that the world sees in Afghanistan into multiple narratives that highlight our shared humanity.”
Our commercials announcing that this orchestration is coming to Kabul began to air nationally in Pashto and Dari (broadcasted by Tolo and Lemar TV) on 18th May and can be viewed here: 10,000 Balloons Are Coming.
One of the many young female volunteers, Nargis Azaryun, said “we hope that by giving away 10,000 pink balloons we will give this city 10,000 ideas of life beyond war; 10,000 opportunities to imagine the future; 10,000 opportunities to believe in peace, gender equality, and education. Each of our balloons can open up conversations about the way we live and how we can improve our lives through creativity.”
The funding for this project comes from individuals from around the world who believe in art and creativity as a way of moving forward–and not war. Thus far, more than 7,000 people from 43 countries have participated.
