The year was 1893. A young monk from India opened the World’s Parliament of Religions with an electrifying speech that brought the assembled representatives of the world’s major faiths to their feet.
The monk was Vivekananda, who had come to Chicago without a formal connection to the parliament but nonetheless managed to secure an invitation to give not only an opening address but several more speeches.
More than 6,000 people crowded into the assembly hall of the Permanent Memorial Art Palace, now the Art Institute of Chicago, to hear the young man speak.
Passionately and eloquently, Vivekananda called for the end of religious bigotry and intolerance. Today, his galvanising words adorn the grand staircase of Art Institute of Chicago, just as relevant even after 127 years.
The installation, that treats the museum’s Grand Staircase almost like a notepad, was built by Mumbai-based artist Jitish Kallat as a powerful visual symbol of hope and shared humanity.
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