Flag
A flag for what is human.
The prototype, cut and sewn by hand in jute by Barbara Sbrocca.
The prototype took shape during an international Baci Sospesi workshop in Leiria, Portugal, in July 2024. Ten artists encountered the project through its audio portraits and explored its themes of encounter and separation through their own artistic practices. Barbara made the flag in jute, cutting and sewing it by hand. She first presented it at Livraria Arquivo, the Leiria bookshop that hosted the exhibition of work developed during the workshop.
She wanted a flag for what is valuable in human beings: affection, empathy, hope, sensitivity and courage. The ability to see another person and remain present.
It represents what is human and valuable in every person, including qualities that can be neglected, recovered and chosen again. The red forms remain distinct, as people remain distinct within a relationship.
The flag continues a theme that runs through Barbara’s artistic and literary work. Umano come me (Human like me) is the title of her first book. Within Baci Sospesi, “Different, but human like me” expresses the same attention to shared humanity: people have different histories, languages and experiences, and each person deserves recognition and care.
The values it makes visible
Empathy matters when recognising another person changes how someone acts. Sensitivity allows people to perceive what convenience or habit can make easy to ignore. The flag gives these capacities a public presence and asks people to practise them in their relationships and shared spaces.
Hope keeps the possibility of change open. Courage is needed to enter an encounter in which another person may disturb a familiar version of the world. These values belong to the everyday work of listening, showing up and accepting responsibility for others.
The distinct red forms hold this meaning together. People bring different histories, languages, experiences and positions into a relationship. Equality gives each life the same value while asking those differences to be taken seriously.
From recognition to action
A flag becomes meaningful when people recognise themselves around it. Recognition is the first movement. The next question is what they are willing to do together.
A voice heard with attention, a message offered to an unknown reader, a place opened for others to use: these are ways the values represented by the flag can become actions. Bringing Baci Sospesi to a new community gives that recognition a place to grow.
Let us nurture our common humanity. Give the best in us a voice, a form, a place in the world.