Cover Story: PROTEST ART
Sisi Kwa Sisi
More than 50 years after independence Kenya has no national art gallery or a calendar for art events at least state sponsored. Development and dissemination of art has been carried on through individual talent and effort using privately owned galleries, curio shops, foreign cultural centres and a myriad other trials. Through these channels three commercial aspects of art have evolved and thrived namely sign/mural-painting meant for social marketing and amusement in public spaces; ‘airport art’ masquerading between curio and fine art and lastly; ‘serious art’ meant for the expatriates, corporate and well-to-do members of East African society.
Resistance To Corruption Through Posters
MAZINGIRA INSTITUTE has a very rich archive of resistance materials (T...
Art Strategies In 21st Century Protests
The relationship between art and protest is often framed around art th...
Mau Mau Wood Carvings Narrative
By Shiraz Durrani The year is 1976. The nation is in the iron grip o...
My Engagement With Protest Art
I grew up in colonial times and became increasingly aware of the racis...
A Freedom Fighter Laid Low
In the 1970s the then all powerful Attorney General, Charles Njonjo, h...
#NOIMPOSTERSHERE: Nairobi’s Faux Election Posters
In Nairobi, a group of anonymous artists, going by the name #NOIMPOSTE...
Regular Columns
Indigenous or ‘Outdigenous?’
Before revisiting the topic for this edition, I first re-read an article on minorities which I wrote in July, 2010. I had then argued, with some fervour, that Kenyans should strive to respect the provisions of a new constitution which guaranteed minority rights. At the time, I was thinking very much of those who identified themselves as nationals but who were deemed minorities through number, through race and through religious persuasion, or lack of it, within well-defined national boundaries. The intervening years have focused international attention on minorities seeking to infiltrate such boundaries through migration, largely to the West. However,...
Bleak Times
Identity politics is consuming us all, at home and abroad. It is dominating our daily discourse on all fronts. Minorities are on the march everywhere, seeking a space and voice for their particular grievances. They demand respect and recognition, and some are quick to take offence at even slight criticism or reasoned disagreement. I may be coming across as a reactionary old fart, but let me at least play the devil`s advocate! So what is the big picture? Protest is in the air all around. In British academia, there is continuing controversy about the so-called `no platforming` and its allied `safe space` phenomena, both American imports. `No platform(ing)` is basically...
Special Feature
Tinga Tinga Tales
Kenya National Theatre September 2018 Reviewer: Diana Lee-Smith Taking part in songs, dance and stories with larger than life animal characters coming from all directions and surrounding the audience makes Tinga Tinga Tales a thrilling show for children and adults. It has played to packed houses in Nairobi and was set to play in New York in October 2018, where it would...
Twentieth Century Africa Travelogue - Ma...
‘Queen Ranavalona hated Christians and many were burned at the stake or thrown off the cliffs. Christianity was denounced among the various peoples throughout southern Madagascar. In 1835 missionaries left the country fleeing the rage of the Queen. The campaigns lasted until 1857, four years before the Queen died. She began her rule in 1780.’
Beyond Safaris and Bollywood
We, my husband and I live in Goa, on the west coast of India. It is famous as a tourist destination, mainly for its beaches. In the past it was a destination for hippies but now we have chartered flights from all over the world, UK, Ukraine, Russia and Israel. In the years we have lived in Goa I have again...
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Book, Play and Film Reviews
Footsteps
Jak Katarikawe - An Immortal East African Artist
By Margaretta wa Gacheru Jak Katarikawe was a beloved East African artist who wasn’t ju...
Literary Meaning In Joseph Kamaru's Songs
By Kanyi Thiong’o Different scholars of Literature have in the past researched on the l...