The Colombian-American artist Yazmany Arboleda is painting the city of Nairobi yellow – or at least its houses of worship. As part of his public art project Colour in Faith, religious buildings from mosques to churches are being washed in lemon yellow as a symbol of peace among all religions.

“The goal was to take houses of worship in Kenya and paint them yellow in the name of love,” says Arboleda from his studio in New York City. “The idea from the beginning was to turn buildings into sculptures that speak to our shared humanity.”

But yellow? It’s a bit of an eyesore on the street. “People think our photos are Photoshopped because the yellow is so saturated,” says Arboleda, who chose the colour for its brightness and warmth. “‘Optimistic yellow’ is the paint name.”

Optimistic yellow … the Baps Swaminarayan temple in Nairobi. Photograph: Mohammed Altoum

It all started in 2015, when Arboleda was in Nairobi for an artist residency. He has been making public art since 2006 and is best known for his pink balloon project, used as a symbol of peace in Kabul after a Taliban attack in 2013. Arboleda met Nabila Alibhai, the founder of In Commons, a civic engagement organisation.

“We talked about our shared humanity and our highest goals as people across religions,” he says. “How do we disarm each other through beauty? And how do we do that across lines of language, religion, ethnicity and politics?”

He was inspired by Barack Obama’s visit to Nairobi in August 2015 – which a CNN journalist said was potentially dangerous, labelling east Africa “a hotbed of terror”. The Twitter hashtag #someonetellcnn trended for days ahead of the US president’s visit, criticising the news network, until a CNN executive flew to Nairobi to apologise for publishing the article.

It wasn’t easy convincing the sheiks, pastors and imams to jump on board. Initially, Arboleda went to the top religious councils in the country to reach the largest number of buildings. “We learned these councils are powerless,” he says. “We had to go to pastor to pastor, priest to priest, imam to imam, sheik to sheik.”

Where it all began ... the Jeddah Mosque Kambi. Photograph: Mohammed Altoum/Yazmany Arboleda and the Colour in Faith project

Arboleda found 14 houses of worship willing to be painted yellow, but due to the murky nature of religious bureaucracy, only three followed through. One mosque wanted him to prove that yellow was representative of Islam, while one church wanted financial support for participating in the project.

“At that point, I went home and cried,” Arbodela recalls. “I was so heartbroken. We were trying to make a statement about unity and beauty but even with a shared vision, there are still limitations and challenges. Thankfully, we found people willing to collaborate in a more transparent way.”

The first religious institution to jump on board was the Jeddah Mosque Kambi, which was painted in September 2015. “The sheikh, from the very beginning, was so willing to support the cause and help connect us to other institutions,” says Arbodela. “He enabled the dream.”

One more coat ... the Jesus Is the Key of Life church. Photograph: Mohammed Altoum/Yazmany Arboleda and the Colour in Faith project

Next came the A-C-K Holy Trinity Parish and the Baps Swaminarayan temple. By the end of the month, Arbodela will have finished painting the Jesus Is the Key of Life church – with three more buildings in the works.

According to a the CIA factbook, 83% of Kenyans are Christians and 11% are Muslims, along with smaller Buddhist and Hindu communities. “In Kenya, religion is a way to control society,” says Arboleda, who is not religious but considers himself spiritual. “To ask questions and have a dialogue is incredibly powerful for these communities.”

Volunteers paint the buildings with supplies from Uganda’s Sadolin paint company, which has donated 5,000 litres of paint. Up to 70 volunteers at a time paint together, all from different religious communities. At one point, Arboleda saw a Muslim girl getting to know Christian girls her age. “To see people smile and talk to each other is beautiful.”



Broad brushstrokes ... Colour in Faith volunteers. Photograph: Mohammed Altoum/Yazmany Arboleda and the Colour in Faith project

When Arboleda lands in Nairobi next month, he will start painting al-Hidaya mosque and then travel to the coastal city of Mombasa to paint al-Farouq mosque, the Anglican Church of Kenya, the Masjid Musa – a controversial mosque that hit the news when suspected radicalised Muslims changed its name in 2014 – and the Majengo Salvation Army church, which has twice been attacked.

“This is a big deal for us, because both of these buildings were affected by the radicalisation struggle in 2012 to 2014,” said Arbodela. “Art helps us reconsider ourselves and our thoughts about others.”

As if painting two towns yellow wasn’t enough, Arbodela recently started work on a public monument in Nairobi, which will launch next year. “We’re going to call it the Open Palm Park and, yes, we will probably paint the monument yellow.”