Hamburg, February 24, 2025.
We Are the World? (2025) is a project by the anonymous artist collective FRIDA, produced in an edition of three copies.

The idea is to reinterpret the world-famous hit We Are the World from 1985 by transforming the original video and sound material with the help of artificial intelligence. Forty years after the song was created, FRIDA replaces the protagonists of the original music video with current political figures. Despots and controversial leaders, notorious for their hate speech, now "sing" together for a better world. A song that once symbolized peace and global unity is now performed by people deeply involved in today's conflicts. This juxtaposition creates a stark contrast between the harmony of the song and the harsh realities of modern geopolitics.

The real twist on this project lies in its foundation: the artificial intelligence-generated voices of these world leaders were trained solely on their publicly documented hate speech. Nearly 5,000 hours of hateful rhetoric were meticulously curated and fed into advanced AI voice software to produce the unexpected result - a song of peace. But that's not all: using cutting-edge image generation tools and AI-driven lip-syncing technology, the accompanying video clip was brought to life, merging technology and irony into a powerful artistic statement.

The satire is to expose the absurdity and double standards of today's political communication.

With the message of solidarity and compassion coming from the mouths of individuals who often incite division and hatred, FRIDA holds a mirror up to world politics. The work shows how far international rhetoric has strayed from the ideals the song originally represented.
Through satirical distortion, FRIDA critically examines today's political discourse and the increasing coarsening of language. By reinterpreting the original, the work takes on a new dimension that raises fundamental questions: How has the tone of international communication evolved? To what extent have hatred and division overshadowed the earlier vision of global solidarity? What if hatred turned into peace?
In order of appearance: Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping, Ali Khamenei, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Benjamin Netanyahu, Hibatullah Akhundzada, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Javier Milei, Nicolás Maduro, Jair Bolsonaro, Daniel Ortega, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Giorgia Meloni, Marine Le Pen and others.
With this work, the artist collective wants to underline the urgency of diplomacy, respectful communication and social cohesion. It is not only a provocative critique of the current political climate, but also a satirical appeal to the responsibility of individuals to use language as a tool for understanding, not division.

FRIDA's work goes beyond mere social critique; it is both a call to action and a hopeful plea for a return to mutual respect and humility in our interactions.
On display for a limited time at the Woods Art Institute, the work unfolds as an immersive narrative. Visitors will embark on a thought-provoking journey, following the evolution from the raw intensity of hate speech to the process of AI training, culminating in the powerful visual and auditory experience of the reimagined song and video clip.

WAl is pleased to add the video work "We are the World" by artist collective FRIDA to its collection. In a time of global uncertainty and social upheaval, it is more important than ever for an institution to strengthen the voice of art and to emphasize its role as a space for reflection, dialogue and freedom.
Art not only creates new perspectives, but also defends freedom of thought and expression - the cornerstone of an open society. FRIDA's work consciously uses satire and irony as powerful tools to question social structures, expose contradictions and hold up a mirror to society.
By acquiring "We are the World", WAl is sending a clear signal about the importance of artistic positions that deal with the challenges of our time in a courageous, astute and multifaceted way.