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Art, education, intercultural dialogue: the Third Paradise arrives in Tanzania for the first time
A participatory art project that brings together solidarity and creativity: between 20 and 22 January, an artwork of Michelangelo Pistoletto’s trinamical symbol was created at the school of Bella Esperanza ODV. “From this experience,” stated Rebirth Ambassadors Coordinator Francesco Saverio Teruzzi, “I discovered that the Third Paradise lives in shared gestures, in the silence that listens, and in the hands that build together.”
The art of the trinamical sign welcomed in Tanzania: for the first time in Sub-Saharan Africa, a Third Paradise by Michelangelo Pistoletto was created at the Bella Esperanza ODV school. The work is the result of an initiative co-designed by Fondazione Pistoletto Cittadellarte, Hexisart and Bella Esperanza (BE), curated by Tommaso Venco and Francesco Saverio Teruzzi, in collaboration with the Teresian Sisters in Ugwachanya near Iringa and with the patronage of the Italian Embassy in Tanzania.
The project, held from 20 to 22 January, unfolded through the creation of a mural and a participatory performance, involving the children, the local community, and a network of creatives from Bella Esperanza’s international community, known as “BE Friends,” as well as an encounter with the Maasai.
“In the experience in Tanzania,” stated Michelangelo Pistoletto, “with the young students of Bella Esperanza ODV and through the meeting with the Maasai people, the Third Paradise became a space of shared responsibility: mimi, wewe, sisi (I, you, we). The mural, with nature above and the handprints of the children below, affirms that the future cannot be delegated but must be built together from childhood. Peace is born when society recognizes nature and humanity as a single body.”
The mural, created by Tanzanian artists Happy Roberts and Frank Chillo together with the school’s children, symbolically integrates nature and humanity. The handprints of the youngest participants have become a tangible sign of a future that cannot be delegated but must be built collectively. Music was an integral part of the experience thanks to the participation of Dully Sykes, an icon of Tanzanian “Bongo Flava” music, who helped transform the performance into a collective, intergenerational act.
“In Tanzania I discovered that the Third Paradise lives in shared gestures, in the silence that listens and in the hands that build together. Education arises from encounter, peace grows through daily care, and participation flourishes when people place themselves on the same level. I learned that building the future means, first and foremost, cultivating relationships,” explained Rebirth Ambassadors Coordinator Francesco Saverio Teruzzi.
On the occasion of the project, the Italian Ambassador to Tanzania, Giuseppe Coppola, visited the school, highlighting the cultural and educational value of the initiative focused on contemporary Italian art. Emphasizing how the initiative confirms the vitality of people-to-people relations between Tanzania and Italy, Ambassador Coppola observed that “this project demonstrates how art and education can become tools for dialogue and cooperation between the two countries, to the benefit of new generations.”
The initiative was also presented at Ruaha Catholic University (RUCU) in Iringa as an opportunity for institutional and academic exchange, and culminated in an official event at the Ambassador’s residence in Dar es Salaam, confirming its cultural and diplomatic significance.
“The idea of bringing these two realities into dialogue came to me almost naturally: by knowing them deeply and recognizing their affinities, it became possible to shape an encounter in which contemporary art was activated within an educational and community context, opening up new cultural readings,” added Tommaso Venco.
The collaboration reflects the vision of Bella Esperanza ODV, which promotes a contemporary approach to the third sector based on participation, transparency and collaboration between local communities and international networks, integrating education and creativity as pillars of a new and sustainable model.
“We are developing a contemporary charity aimed at younger generations, oriented toward fostering dialogue between cultures and promoting shared social change through creativity and the universal languages of art, music and sport. In this context, art takes on a concrete role of collective responsibility for us. Bringing the Third Paradise to Tanzania means contributing to the construction of a shared vision of the future, in which education and creativity operate as strategic tools for development and social transformation,” stated Alexandra Pfeifer, founder and president of the organization. New activations of the project are planned in the coming months also in Italy, between Milan, Venice and Bolzano, while a second large-scale installation in Tanzania is currently under development.
