An art movement built on ancestral wisdom | Jackie Lebo

TED Talks Daily

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4.1 • 11.9K Ratings

🗓️ 1 December 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"How are the children? How are the cattle? Is it raining?" Filmmaker Jackie Lebo discovered the meaning of this traditional greeting when she and nine other artists explored Turkana, an isolated part of Kenya where the discovery of oil has disrupted pastoral life. Through film, photography and music, she and musicians Elizabeth Korikel and Eddie Grey share the deep cultural roots of art — and highlight the true connectedness of humanity.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day.
0:12.2	I'm your host, Elise Hugh.
0:14.0	What lives at the nexus of traditional societies and modernity?
0:18.5	When filmmaker, photographer, and writer Jackie Lebo went to the Turkana region
0:22.7	in northern Kenya to make a film that explored this question, she thought it would be a project
0:27.7	about oil discovery and the nomadic people of the region. Instead, it turned into a deep
0:33.6	exploration of pastoralist identity and the power of resource sharing and creative
0:38.5	collaboration. In her talk, she shares how this journey transformed her understanding of
0:43.6	culture and community and how collective action can generate meaningful art that renews a sense
0:50.3	of humanity. And after the talk, stick around for a special performance from singer Elizabeth Cori-Kel,
0:56.1	who is from the Turkana region and Nairobi-based guitarist Eddie Gray, playing music from
1:01.6	the Turkana Sessions, a project which explores the musical heritage of the region, along with
1:07.2	other styles.
1:14.1	Where I come from, we greet people.
1:17.3	How are you?
1:18.9	How are the children?
1:20.3	How are the cattle?
1:21.9	Is it raining?
1:23.3	So, how are you?
1:25.4	How are the children?
1:27.7	How are the cattle? How are the cattle?
1:28.4	Do you have cattle?
	...

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