HELENA OSPINA
LIZARRALDE

The Why are we here Project is an art initiative that started in April 2021. Through posters in public spaces I ask people a fundamental question in my artistic research; Why are we here? And  invite them to answer it through an email address. This project highlights the importance of questioning our existence while presenting a question that might seem obvious at first glance but in reality, is very hard to answer.

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It is important to acknowledge this question because it can open a door of reflection towards our existence, towards the fact that there are some important questions left unanswered. The Why are we here Project enables a space of reflection and its purpose lays on the questioning itself more than on the need to find one universal truth.

 

So far, the project has received over 400 answers to the question 'Why are we here?'. Parting from the same question people have different answers that come from various points of view upon life. I see this as a democratic action in which everyone can participate in building a collective imaginary towards the question 'Why are we here?'

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When thinking of democracy nowadays it has to be recognized that society is very diverse, so when creating new ways of questioning, we should open a door in which everyone can contribute from their own backgrounds that bring unique approaches. Only in this way we can truly imagine possibilities for new democratic orders that will be fairer to everyone.  

 

The core of this project is to stimulate public discourse on the matter of existence, making an emphasis on the value that lies in the questioning itself, in rethinking our way of approaching reality as we know it. 

 

This project is just starting, it is meant to keep on growing, putting this question out there while highlighting its relevance. In the intersection between art and philosophy very interesting conversations can source.