DESCRIPTION

This is a video portrait of Afghan Hip-Hop and Rap singer Paradise. It is part of the We Believe In Artists video series. The series was created as part of the We Believe In Balloons campaign.

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN:

For decades now, whether during the Soviet Occupation, the Civil War or the Taliban Regime, the Afghan people have been subject to continuous conflict and oppression. As a result, Afghanistan has been starved economically, socially and culturally. Whilst large streams of refugees inundated the cities post 2002, life in more remote areas of the country has remained unchanged, in some instances for decades, in others even for centuries.

It is for this reason that we have chosen Kabul as the next destination for our Monday Morning series, following similar events in Bangalore in India, Nairobi in Kenya, and Yamaguchi in Japan. In each of those places, we disrupted the Monday Morning commute ritual by handing out 10,000 bio-degradable bright balloons, creating a living sculpture that brought about joy, wonderment and a new sense of awareness to people.

The Kabul edition has one more component, meant to symbolize an international reaching out to the Afghan community over the course its long struggle. The art piece will be financed by people from around the world with an awareness of this. Even more strikingly, each supporter will only be able to give a single dollar--a direct link to one balloon-- in an effort to generate equal ownership of the overall manifestation.

Over one hundred volunteers will hand out hot pink balloons this coming spring. Thousands of hand-to-hand exchanges will weave a living tapestry, creating a stream of shared instances of unexpected happiness.