Michael Franti Quotes

India is a reservoir of alternative interpretations of what the global is, and these ways of viewing the world need to be exposed.

The arts are very alive in Ireland, so that had its influence on me. But I consider myself European, really.

Maybe the way we have learned to look has changed in the last 25 years, and the exotic is much more acceptable. There are many artists now, younger artists, who work out of the exotic.

I was just fascinated with how everyone else in the world lived, and I was interested in telling their story.

There are better ways we can transform this virulent hatred - by living our ideals, the Peace Corps, exchange students, teachers, exporting our music, poetry, blue jeans.

China is important to the world in that they are a force and on the move. Exposing them to figurative art opens up a potential for artistic expression far greater than anyone would ever have dreamed possible until today. It is this very spirit of the struggle and determination to triumph that inspires creative expression.

Art transcends cultural boundaries.

I think you learn a lot about a country from its art. To me, it's part of the drama of life. It teaches you that there are places, moments and incidents in other cultures that genuinely have a life of their own.

One of the aims of higher education is to broaden perspectives, and what better way than by a home stay in a really different country, like Bangladesh or Senegal? Time abroad also leaves one more aware of the complex prism of suspicion through which the United States is often viewed.

Can that make any sense - a Belgian artist living in Mexico and working in Afghanistan?

Wherever I go, I bring the culture with me, so that they can understand that it's attainable. I didn't do it any other way than through hip-hop.

When you have an American mother from the Midwest and an Egyptian father, you travel back and forth and see such completely different stories in the news about the exact same events. It makes you think, 'How is anybody able to understand or even have a dialogue when the basis of information is just so completely different?'

Art is not a treasure in the past or an importation from another land, but part of the present life of all living and creating peoples.

I think some of the best reporters are the ones who can really illustrate the differences between societies, at the same time trying to connect the fact that there are a lot of shared values in addition to those differences.

Yes, influences are enriching, and they can be found in every work of art, even the most original.

Art should have no nationality and between artists we should be able to develop complete reciprocity. We need emotional outlets in this country and the more artistic people we develop the better it will be for us as a nation.

One reason I chose gunpowder is that I had the good luck in my environment to be exposed to gunpowder. The other reason is I was always looking for a visual language that goes beyond the boundary of nations, and so I found gunpowder.

At Ford Motor Company, we believe the arts speak a common language that weaves a common thread among all people.

I want to broaden my horizons, speak a new language, meet new people, and experience a different culture.

I do films because there is an audience out there. It doesn't matter if they're Indian, American, or European.

It's better to live a world where you can hear different languages and sensibilities.

I grew up influenced by different cultures, sounds, feelings, emotions, and I want Premiere Classe to be a representation of that.

We have so many different television programs and various things that teach us about the lives of people we will never meet otherwise.

The beauty of music is that it is a universal language. I truly believe it knows no boundaries of any kind.

Cinema, art and culture should definitely be shared. These things transcend borders.