Street Art for Hope and Peace | eL Seed | TED Talks

Born in France to Tunisian parents, eL Seed delights in juggling multiple cultures, languages and identities. Not least in his artwork, which sets Arabic poetry in a style inspired by street art and graffiti. In this quietly passionate talk, the artist and TED Fellow describes his central ambition: to create art so beautiful it needs no translation.
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[@cyberpragya]

I love how his calligraphiti (great word) blends into the structure and the surrounding environment. Either through contrast or complement, it looks like it belongs there, and makes it beautiful.

[@user-mk1id4ez6g]

he didn't give up his own history, culture and language. What an amazing thing

[@sereen_alyahya]

من أعظم العروض التي شاهدتها , شكرًا لك لنشر ثقافة اللغة العربية , لغة الفن والعمق والمعرفة, وإطلاعها للعالم. العالم العربي بك يفخر

[@AssClappicus]

You can see and hear how moved this man is by art. It's lovely to watch.

[@nextbirt]

Amazing. You're doing an amazing job, wish there were more people like you ;)

[@bosman8797]

LOVE THIS! 'You are never too young to learn, never too old to change. Your yearning to learn and change come from a divinely instilled striving for eternal progression. Each day brings opportunity for decisions for eternity.'

[@vibodhj349]

Beautifully articulated!

[@ldekker97]

Wow! It looks absolutely stunning, and carries a great message!

[@Inshiraa]

Beautiful the "Language" of Color...FREEDOM and Art! Mabrook!

[@dannymarkham9459]

His work is so refreshing and inspiring.

[@sereen_alyahya]

this is the greatest show i have been seeing in Ted talks. so proud of you

[@surfingmindwaves]

Your art is beautiful~! Love the message you're sending out with it! :)

[@1974naenae]

Beautiful! !!!! Bravo! !!!!

[@niory]

*Beautiful*

[@ayatabuagla1772]

Beautiful!😊

[@alexboston343]

That's nice *pats on head*

[@AshrafulAyanAzmi]

You are awesome brother! Keep going on. You are spreading the message of truth and piece in very contemporary way. Big up!

[@Rebecca-zr1zz]

beautiful

[@farahildasaputri]

I can't believe it! I always want to see how calligraphy and graffity combined on wall and now this! great work❤🔥

[@mrnosfull]

Le job est propre, respect à toi

[@dhruvpatel1228]

I watched the TED talk Street Art with a Message of Hope and Peace. The most valuable information I learned from this TED talk is that eL Seed’s artwork creates a connection to people because of the message he writes. Something else I learned is how important it is to preserve the beauty of the messages written in artwork. When I took a second look at eL Seed’s artwork, I noticed how he consistently uses quotes or poetry to create an impact on the people. One of eL Seed’s bigger pieces was the minaret of Jara Mosque, which was a graffiti. Imam, the building constructor, didn’t ask for a design and allowed eL Seed to freely draw on that wall. eL Seed chose a line from the Quran quoting “Oh humankind, we have created you from a male and a female and made you people and tribe, so you may know each other”. His goal is to deliver a universal call for peace and acceptance. I believe el Seed wrote messages in Arabic to show how proud he is of his culture and how he sends a message of peace and unity. eL Seed uses visual images of his artwork to convey his audience. Specifically, in Rio de Janeiro, he translated a Portuguese poem and painted it on a rooftop. When the people asked for the meaning of the calligraphy they felt truly connected to the piece. In the TED talk, eL Seed uses facial expressions to convince his audience. For instance, in el Seed’s facial expressions one could deduce how he is reflecting on his prior art pieces by not looking straight at the audience. He connects with his audience by using word choices such as “hope”, “beauty”, and “invitation” along with his hands to gesture to the audience. He maintains eye contact with his audience and uses his voice to deliver an uplifting feeling about his artwork. The images and the words work together because when he says “meaning” and “translation”, a picture of his artwork shows up. Towards the end of the video, el Seed states his goal, and the images of his artwork are presented portraying how images and words tie together. el Seed’s word choice combined with his images allow the audience to empathize with his artwork and meaning. Furthermore, in South Africa, a local community offered him a school wall to put his artwork on. He wrote a quote from Nelson Mandela stating “It seems impossible, until its done”. el Seed was able to draw the audience’s attention with the photo he presented because he captured a happy moment when a kid was running with the dog. His photos and the quotation in the artwork work well together to deliver his message of hope and peace.

[@chromanin]

Very beautiful.

[@esraaamin8372]

عاااش جدا من أجمل talks الي شفتها

[@wafaarefat5400]

Thanks Mr.El seed

[@balikakamble1433]

awesome. you are just awesome. i really dont know what was the script mean but it looks great. you are soooo good. thank you very much. for sharing your art.

[@graphicq8]

El Seed .. Much respected artist .. I love your works .. I had the honor to meet u in kuwait :)

[@JonZoda]

That's very nice

[@suntimes9465]

Salam from Peru Alhamdulillah Graffitti in Jannah one day.

[@salmasr9383]

خط جميل جدا ، بارك الله فيه ، bueatiful

[@tamatherelmahdi7100]

Proud to be a Muslim Arab :)

[@JustinRuta]

These are pretty great pieces of graffiti and touching too

[@aya53100]

prrooouuud!

[@alnsr1226]

Great speech i like it.... i love arabic caligraphe but i can write it... im arab by the way but caligraphy i belive is type of art

[@mouedhsassi2022]

big up men gebes :D good job wallah sa7a weld bled

[@AhlamHagouch]

I wanna hope,, I wanna see peace every were in the world 😣

[@inessabille]

Calligrapher of peace #el seed

[@ThatCrazyMexicanBoii]

Who got the infinity simulation ad

[@imrannazir6931]

Well Done eL Seed! . .. Cue the haters.....

[@TheGerogero]

Imran Nazir Que?

[@yahertzel]

TheGerogero Queque

[@TheGerogero]

yahertzel :>

[@Claudia-kp7io]

I love the part 5:39

[@KingDayDayDay00]

Needs more arrows

[@stayniftyGuyFaceMannPersonDude]

Remember when TED talks were a big thing, and not just a platform for any old bullshit? *Pepperidge farm remembers*

[@baller3026]

Ｓｔａｙｎｉｆｔｙ i actually liked this one though

[@stayniftyGuyFaceMannPersonDude]

imperfect being Meh it's alright I suppose. The older TED talks used to inspire, and change the way we think about the world. The latest "generation" of TED topics have been mostly subjective, provincial "projects" their presenters are pimping for publicity.

[@baller3026]

Ｓｔａｙｎｉｆｔｙ that is most definitely true, unfortunately

[@TicketAirline]

﷽ Open your heart❤️

[@stayniftyGuyFaceMannPersonDude]

TicketAirline I'm sorry, but after witnessing the horrible acts of greed, depravity, and hypocrisy of the world i can't be over joyed, or experience any form of glee in the slightest. But for real the world is fucked up, and a few paintings on city walls isn't going to save it. It's a nice sentiment, but skepticism and ingenuity are out only way out of the hole we've dug for our species. Please forgive my cynicism, but i'm a connoisseur of history, and once you've studied it a bit you become filled with incredulity.

[@davide.s.9880]

Boy I don't like graffiti . I love street art to know end. To me graffiti is anything with the majority of it is calligraphy. Having said that the very first picture was right thing for that spot. Then the last one that snakes up the building also looks good.

[@TheGerogero]

What's wrong with Zulu?

[@hunterakridge3670]

Why are there so many TED talks about Islam?

[@umwha]

WHAT IS WITH ALL THE TALKS ABOUT MUSLIM TOPICS

[@judet7340]

Beautiful