Streets of Afghanistan, a life-size photo exhibition by Afghan and Western photographers organized by the non-profit organization Mountain2Mountain now plans to bring the exhibit to Kabul as public street art.
Hanging over Kabul are the consequences of a lingering war, with the risk of its abstract and pervasive atmosphere erasing and smudging the contours of everything else.
But what about the people living in a country at war—the ones who are not numbered among the killed or wounded in terrorist attacks or intelligent missile strikes? What about their thoughts and emotions, their expressive urge to carry on imagining and dreaming?
Luckily, life in Kabul continues despite the conflict, and the struggle to maintain a sense of normality is one of those stories that are rarely told by the press. A war-torn nation’s artistic output and creative experimentation offer one way of exploring these silent stories. They reveal the glimmer of a more positive side and help to reflect on human resilience and the capacity, despite everything, to preserve space for thought and hope. This can be seen in Kabul, if only one digs beneath the surface of its rubble.
The city’s creative scene is still in an embryonic stage, however it is beginning to move in many different directions, where “culture” and creative practices make it possible to design or imagine alternative ways to the future.
Culture and creative practices are two sides of the same coin, providing tools to interpret the roles played in a complex geopolitical scene. In that context, ideas about cultural heritage, contemporary art and creativity assume a relevance beyond plain aesthetics.
International investments in culture (from archaeology to crafts and support for young artists) are an indirect and extremely interesting way to aid the reconstruction of a country, consolidating the present as well as rethinking the foundations for the future.
(text courtesy of Francesca Recchia)Photography by Lorenzo Tugnoli
Hanging over Kabul are the consequences of a lingering war, with the risk of its abstract and pervasive atmosphere erasing and smudging the contours of everything else.
But what about the people living in a country at war—the ones who are not numbered among the killed or wounded in terrorist attacks or intelligent missile strikes? What about their thoughts and emotions, their expressive urge to carry on imagining and dreaming?
Luckily, life in Kabul continues despite the conflict, and the struggle to maintain a sense of normality is one of those stories that are rarely told by the press. A war-torn nation’s artistic output and creative experimentation offer one way of exploring these silent stories. They reveal the glimmer of a more positive side and help to reflect on human resilience and the capacity, despite everything, to preserve space for thought and hope. This can be seen in Kabul, if only one digs beneath the surface of its rubble.
The city’s creative scene is still in an embryonic stage, however it is beginning to move in many different directions, where “culture” and creative practices make it possible to design or imagine alternative ways to the future.
Culture and creative practices are two sides of the same coin, providing tools to interpret the roles played in a complex geopolitical scene. In that context, ideas about cultural heritage, contemporary art and creativity assume a relevance beyond plain aesthetics.
International investments in culture (from archaeology to crafts and support for young artists) are an indirect and extremely interesting way to aid the reconstruction of a country, consolidating the present as well as rethinking the foundations for the future.
(text courtesy of Francesca Recchia)Photography by Lorenzo Tugnoli
