JR

When you're in New York, people don't say, 'We're happy you came to New York.' In D.C., people thank you for coming here and bringing art here.

I started when I was 15 years old. And at that time, I was not thinking about changing the world, I was doing graffiti - writing my name everywhere, using the city as a canvas. I was going in the tunnels of Paris, on the rooftops with my friends. Each trip was an excursion, was an adventure.

If you give me Times Square, I want to give it back to the people.

When I was little, I didn't really travel - from the suburbs to Paris was already a journey. I had a foreigner's eye on the city, and I still enjoy that point of view. Then there's the fact that one of the things that touches me most is injustice.

What I love about the TED is that it's not, 'Hey, take this check and enjoy.' It's, 'Do something with this, and we'll help you.' I think that's the most beautiful prize I've ever heard of.

With humour, there is life.

I want to create the largest-ever participatory art project and highlight the concept of Shadow Philanthropy, where people help others create work without taking credit for it - through this we can really change the world.

For me, the gallery legitimates the art production and helps build collections. I don't think an artist should do everything by himself forever. I did it for years and then slowly built my circle of trust.

The beauty of an art project is that you cannot always measure the impact, but one day it can become clear.

Art is not meant to change the world, but when you see people interacting, when you see an impact on their lives, then I guess in a smaller way, this is changing the world. So, that's what I believe in. That's why I'm into creating more and more interactions.

Can art change the world? Maybe... we should change the question: Can art change people's lives?

What we see changes who we are.