Nonprofits & Activism
When the world is burning, is art a waste of time? | R. Alan Brooks
Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. Is art worth it? “Hell yeah,” says graphic novelist R. Alan Brooks — art has the power to scare dictators, inspire multitudes and change hearts and minds across the world. Reflecting on his journey to become an artist at…
Nonprofits & Activism
From Prison to Purpose Through Wildland Firefighting | Royal Ramey | TED
When wildfires rage in California, incarcerated people are often on the front lines fighting the flames. TED Fellow Royal Ramey was one of them. He shares the story of how doing public service in prison inspired him to cofound the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, a nonprofit helping formerly incarcerated people become wildland firefighters —…
Nonprofits & Activism
The Recipe for a Healthy Climate Starts at the Dinner Table | Anthony Myint | TED
Why aren’t restaurants part of the climate solution? This question inspired chef Anthony Myint to go from opening buzzy pop-ups to pushing for a shift to regenerative farming practices in the food system. He explains how it didn’t go the way he expected at first — and how restaurants are now teaming up with farmers…
Nonprofits & Activism
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Are traditional philanthropy efforts actually taking money from the poor? Former UK Member of Parliament Rory Stewart breaks down why many global development projects waste money on programs that don’t work. He advocates for a radical reversal rooted in evidence: giving unconditional cash transfers directly to those in need, a method that could unlock the…
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Prince Kashyap
February 18, 2021 at 7:09 pm
He inspires me.
anepileptic epileptic
February 18, 2021 at 7:11 pm
Yes. So is TED.
anepileptic epileptic
February 18, 2021 at 7:12 pm
Go figure that those who were oppressed so fiercely are those that are also the worse speakers in any square or arena.
Girish Gowda
February 18, 2021 at 7:14 pm
Boredom and inability to inhibit some degree of otherness is more fatal and inhuman than any pandemic. We need art to tell that our longings are universal. We need art to make us realise and bring a little light into our little lives however deceptively hopeless, dark and brief.
Free Radicals
February 18, 2021 at 7:17 pm
Really needed this. Thank you.
Sannidor
February 18, 2021 at 7:19 pm
Woke nonsense. Racism is an abstract construct, in-group preference is not a bad thing – just judge people by their actions and you’ll be fine.
clearmenser
February 18, 2021 at 7:45 pm
thank you
credenza1
February 18, 2021 at 9:38 pm
Propaganda is not art. What passes as art these days is progressive propaganda, completely safe, uncontroversial and free from honest criticism because of its political stance. It is anti-art, and spiritually crippling to the maker and the consumer.
Vũ Mạnh Tùng
February 18, 2021 at 7:25 pm
The world is not burning, it’s revealing the human nature. And that, my friends, is the true form of art.
Stanley Tipsword
February 18, 2021 at 7:47 pm
Small things make a big difference sometimes. Like a smile or a kind word.
Eva
February 18, 2021 at 7:48 pm
Art!
MVV33 3T1V
February 18, 2021 at 7:53 pm
Wow! You made me cry. It really touched my heart! I’m not black so I can’t say that I feel exactly the same way than you, but I feel those same feelings for other reasons; the guilt, the questions about if i’m being vain, the feeling of sillyness, of being immature or still a child for wanting to do something that light up my heart. I’ve been trying for years to settle in a normal job and I’ve always been super anxious and depressed and now Im realizing that it’s because im not made for that, im made to express myself, just like you, and it does matter as much … thats my way of changing the world, by being authentic. You encouraged me to never give up, thank you❤️
noksan bimriri
February 18, 2021 at 7:56 pm
There is always a reason for something
Know Art
February 18, 2021 at 8:01 pm
The best ‘purpose’ of art I’ve found yet is like drawing big arrows to problems that need fixing, but besides activist art (which gets boring quick imo) I haven’t found too much. Although I’m trying my best at adding education to art, but is that part of art? Who knows…
credenza1
February 18, 2021 at 9:32 pm
What you are referring to is propaganda, not art. Nobody needs to be lectured about social issues. We get that 24/7 from every other source. Art is about revealing what is beautiful and true.
Megumi Hayashida
February 18, 2021 at 8:33 pm
During this pandemic we turned to music, movies, books, videogames, MEMES..ect. Some of us even (re)discovered their artistic potential. Art teaches us, it maintains our sanity. Art saves us in a way.
Biociety
February 18, 2021 at 8:35 pm
Art is so underrated, many people keep writing discouraged from art, including the talented one, because their parents want their kid have highest grade in school, which is also suppress their divergent thinking
Wayne Moore
February 18, 2021 at 8:41 pm
Just from the title no if the world is burning art may be all that remains, a snapshot of existence.
credenza1
February 18, 2021 at 9:30 pm
Well Portland seems still to be burning. Perhaps the artists would be better employed in the fire service.
Max S
February 18, 2021 at 8:58 pm
more reverse racism hate mongering. shame on you
GuitarZombie
February 18, 2021 at 9:10 pm
No one is after you dude
Abd All
February 18, 2021 at 9:11 pm
It is really a waste of time after listening to this
BIDALING TV OFFICIAL
February 18, 2021 at 9:11 pm
Like 👍 baksa niaha gasujok
M C
February 18, 2021 at 9:13 pm
We were designed to create…
credenza1
February 18, 2021 at 9:29 pm
Art that seeks to push an ideological agenda is propaganda. It is by definition limited and biased. Art institutions which ban and cancel works which they deem politically unacceptable are propagandists. They are choosing to tell people what they may or may not see or contemplate. These activities are all anti-art. They have nothing to do with the unfettered range and expansion of human consciousness. Quite the opposite. The tendency of the current art world to behave as political activists is an artistic dead end which limits creativity, and especially so when grants and exhibitions are based on ideology rather than mastery of form.
Rahul Kumar
February 18, 2021 at 10:58 pm
Without art life will be a machine
iloveagdolls30
February 18, 2021 at 11:07 pm
Hi there
immanuel godson
February 19, 2021 at 12:32 am
Im sick to my back teeth of seeing black people open their mouths and start harping on about ‘white people’…..when will they stop with the identity politics and just focus on business
GloriaJWimberley_ GreenSwanica.PROetess
February 19, 2021 at 12:39 am
✨Art is Life✨ Resonant and profound presentation that speaks truth to power📚🖋
credenza1
February 19, 2021 at 1:42 am
Well, when Portland and Minneapolis and Seattle and Chicago are burning, perhaps its time to get rid of the Democrats who have let the cities run down through neglect.
Nova G
February 19, 2021 at 1:53 am
The title of the video was more impressive
Jack Hammer
February 19, 2021 at 2:48 am
Not at all, it’s when we need Art the most. The more immersive a experience the more profound the effect, that’s why I see music aa one big beautiful metaphysical-emotional release value for the individual, it’s like a more primal form of therapy.
Nathania Felicio
February 19, 2021 at 2:57 am
Hey TED,
Can you invite CIA / FBI and Psycholog to told everyone or at least your subscriber , How to being polite person?
How to understand ethic of privacy?
And how to stop judging young-adult just because you are older than them?
Thankyou~
Nathania
February 19, 2021 at 2:57 am
Hey TED,
Can you invite CIA / FBI and Psycholog to told everyone or at least your subscriber , How to being polite person?
How to understand ethic of privacy?
And how to stop judging young-adult just because you are older than them?
Thankyou~
Jack Hammer
February 19, 2021 at 2:59 am
“Go make art and scare a dictator” Powerful stuff man. Love it!
aji widhia
February 19, 2021 at 5:59 am
Last line: Go make art and scare the dictator
Justin Hopkins
February 19, 2021 at 7:50 am
When the world is burning some of the greatest art is made.
Анатолий Петров
February 19, 2021 at 8:07 am
Now when Stalin is long gone, Russian art is in a state of decline it’s never been in
Echolas Gaming
February 19, 2021 at 8:21 am
Art is the great container of every single emotion of humanity when we witness the world’s burning.
Tina Tulips
February 19, 2021 at 6:05 pm
Love. So succinct. I hope it’s OK if I write this in my quote book.
Echolas Gaming
February 20, 2021 at 5:19 am
@Tina Tulips ok
Bernardo Fitzpatrick
February 19, 2021 at 9:24 am
I love comic books and I love your amazing journey through art. Amazing talk and awesome man.
Partial to Pleasure
February 19, 2021 at 9:27 am
Ever since this pandeimc & the quarantine periods have started, I’ve realized that the only thing I really care about, are news of scientific discoveries & developments; especially those that are about space travel & saving Earth. So, I think science comes 1st & art 2nd.
99Bitcoins 99Bitcoins
February 21, 2021 at 9:30 am
Write my professional broker
David Green
February 19, 2021 at 10:06 am
with wokeness affecting/infecting all manor of artistic expression and culture , it is up to the fringe ” players ” to up their game , and show that independent thought is still alive and well , even if it means swimming against the tide
Baby Fangs
February 19, 2021 at 10:24 am
It is 2:30am and I’m sitting at my desk really thinking about how the pandemic forced me to become a full time artist. I have been so afraid and this calmed so much fear. I needed to hear this.
Suraj Gunwal
February 19, 2021 at 11:10 am
Ielts vale like karo
Triek Ps4
February 19, 2021 at 11:30 am
Art is always a waste of time, same goes for fashion.
James Scarr
February 19, 2021 at 3:08 pm
What an engaging speaker! Really enjoyed this talk!
Ayaan Roy
February 19, 2021 at 3:08 pm
ARTS INSPIRED PERSON, PEOPLE’S INSPIRED BY THAT PERSON AND IT CHANGE INTO REVOLUTION……
Wildflower
February 19, 2021 at 3:25 pm
No! In analogy to “If the world ends tomorrow, I plant today an appel tree
Deep Ashtray
February 19, 2021 at 4:11 pm
Art opens up the dialogues we desperately need right now.
Lisa Love Ministries
February 19, 2021 at 6:52 pm
Proverbs 8:17
1 Corinthians 15👑
Wenting L
February 19, 2021 at 7:55 pm
strong artist
systemmik
February 19, 2021 at 8:07 pm
Constructivism gives you the answer
Maria Selepak
February 19, 2021 at 11:39 pm
I was thinking about this a lot lately
THINK BEFORE U ACT
February 20, 2021 at 4:31 am
No
EveryhtingsVuthy
February 20, 2021 at 12:25 pm
Art is the things that people use to motivate themselves
Terrence Wise
February 20, 2021 at 9:23 pm
Superb.
kendall cuddles
February 21, 2021 at 12:27 am
The answer to the question posed in the title is yes, art is a waste of time when the world is burning. You didn’t need to make a speech about it.
Go make art and scare a dictator? But when the dictator is a cult called Woke who unperson you and can make it so your art never is seen in the first place, yes, art is a waste of time.
ASHOK KUMAR.S
February 21, 2021 at 4:30 am
Yes Brooks and then your story is very motivation
99Bitcoins 99Bitcoins
February 21, 2021 at 9:25 am
Write my professional broker
온본은
February 22, 2021 at 12:27 am
So inspirational..i see the power of art and power of people!
Tanishiqa Gupta
February 22, 2021 at 5:52 am
Thank you so much for this! As a young person wanting to pursue a career in creative arts, I have struggled with similar self-doubts that what I wanna do is not important like making vaccines, etc. But I feel a new vigour for my artistic passion after listening to this. Thank you ❤️🙏🏼.
Mel Paradise
February 24, 2021 at 6:39 am
Greetings from Portland Oregon, where I’m also a full time artist. Solidarity! Our business was harassed by right wing nut jobs back in October, but that hasn’t stopped myself or anyone on my team from creating all throughout quarantine. We’re aware of the power of art and no amount of angry nonsense is going to change where we stand from a place of solid experience. There’s a spiritual facet to it that a lot of people don’t want to acknowledge, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s reality. Art is powerful. Never stop making art. It’s literally magic.
Erica S
February 25, 2021 at 3:23 am
Oh wow. This brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing your story. Thank you!
Kacie Devaney
February 25, 2021 at 4:33 am
Agreed ! Art is power, art is change, freedom, healing for the world. Thank you for the great talk!!
Mary Hernandez
February 25, 2021 at 7:47 pm
Guernica