Ship of Tolerance, Egypt 2005

The Ship of Tolerance is a collaborative public art project conceived by artists Ilya and Emilia Kabakov and co-curated with Lance Fung of Fung Collaboratives. The first full-scale version launched in Aswan, Egypt, in summer 2005.

According to Fung Collaboratives' project documentation, the work takes the form of a wooden sailing ship whose sails are painted by children from diverse cultural backgrounds. Workshops in Aswan brought together Egyptian, Nubian, and international participants to create imagery about tolerance, peace, and coexistence. Those paintings were transferred onto the vessel's sails.

The Kabakovs developed the concept as a response to rising ethnic and religious conflict worldwide. By centering children's voices, the project aimed to model dialogue across difference rather than prescribe a single political message.

After Aswan

Following the Egypt launch, Ship of Tolerance traveled to additional cities. Documented iterations include Venice, Italy; Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; Havana, Cuba; and Miami, Florida, among others. Each location adapted the workshop model to local schools and community groups while retaining the central image of a ship carrying shared hopes.

The project remains one of Fung Collaboratives' earliest large-scale international commissions and established a template for socially engaged public art that the organization has continued in programs such as Artlantic and Constellations.

Sources

• Fung Collaboratives. "Ship of Tolerance exhibition description." Project page. fungcollaboratives.org
• Kabakov, Ilya and Emilia. Ship of Tolerance project documentation. First presentation, Aswan, Egypt, summer 2005.
• UNESCO and local cultural partners, Aswan workshop program, 2005.