Kuona Trust May Newletter

The month of May was marked by a premier screenings of an African film, exhibitions and workshops among other events. Here is a look at all the activities that went down at Kuona trust in the month of May.

The Unsellable art exhibition

Art may be regarded as the safest way to speak about issues that are considered politically incorrect or that touch on social matters most people shun from talking about.

The National museum of Kenya organized a one of a kind exhibition showcasing art work that was both evocative and provoking. Artists had the chance to show work based on the same theme, some of which had never been seen by the public.

The exhibition took place at the Creativity Gallery of the National Museum of Kenya from May 21^st to June 4^th 2013.

Gallery installation

What started out as a group of friends working from home in a small house in Kibera  evolved into an art club going by the name ‘the Jolly Boys Club’ where the artists teach art to anyone who has sufficient interest in learning  new techniques. The pioneer of this project, Gor Soudan has managed to bring art closer to the people with his fellow counterparts, Andrew Njoroge and  Mbuthia Maina. Like the three musketeers they have managed to rally the community around them and inject some creativity into them.

The three artists had the chance to display some of the work they had done in the Kuona gallery featuring the work of a young boy who had recently learnt the art of painting.

Jolly boys club presentation

IP  workshop

The day long ‘Know your Intellectual Property’ workshop was facilitated at NaiLab by IP Checkin, Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law ( CiPIT) and Kenya Copyright Board (KeCOBO)
This workshop covered copyright, Infringement, Protecting your IP, Agreements, Rights and the different ways you can make a living off your Intellectual Property.

It was proudly sponsored by Creatives Garage, BAKE, POWO, Craft Afrika, PAWA254 and Arterial Network.

For more information, please visit the organizations’ respective websites.

Rwanda workshops

The Institute of National Museums of Rwanda opened its doors to sculpture artists and students majoring in sculpture art from East African countries. The six day workshop held at the National Art Gallery in Nyanza took place between the 12^th and 18^th of May 2013

The workshop was supervised by three artists: Medard Bizimana (RW), Lilian Nabulime (UG) and Peterson Kamwathi (KE).They developed sketches with the participants which were later showcased in the exhibition ‘Kingship & Kinship’ which focused on depicting the last 3 kings of Rwanda.

Kuona Trust was well represented by a staff member who managed to attend the workshop and the exhibition opening.

One of the collaborative works from the workshop

Japanese artists from Nishio Workshop Nairobi at Kuona

Nishio workshop Nairobi is a new organization that fosters artistic exchanged between artists in Japan and Kenya through residencies and exhibitions

They were able to facilitate an artist presentation by two Japanese artists Yukihiro Taguchi & Shuta Hasunuma.

Yukihiro Taguchi specializes in video, animation, drawing and installation. He creates unique animation using stop motion technique. Yukihiro  was awarded the excellent prize in the Japan Media Arts Festival (2008 ) .http://yukihirotaguchi.com/

Shuta Hasunum works in contemporary music and installation. He has released a variety of music albums from both Japanese and abroad labels. Link-http://www.shutahasunuma.com/

The two artists had the opportunity to share their work and engage with the other artists at Kuona.

Artists from Nishio Workshop giving a presentation

In the case of books

Jackie Karuti, a visual artist and performer based at Kuona Trust did a dust up the libreraies project. Together with other book lovers, they were able to dust the shelves on 8 libraries within Nairobi including home and public libraries.

The whole project was aimed at creating an interactive performance around libraries to encourage people to read books.

To know more about the project and other interesting activities log on to Jacqueline Karuti’s blog –The Thirdroom Studios 

The group, cleaning up a library

Tonney Mugo and Peterson Kamwathi,who took part in the project

The buzz around African Art

Undoubtedly, there is growing interest among art collectors and buyers in African art.

In the recent  years,there has been an increase in the number of art work shipped abroad from Africa and the art shows held in galleries abroad.

Al Jazeera’s Nazanine Moshiri reports from Nairobi on the artwork going on sale in one of London’s auction house Bonhams.

Watch the video here

Opportunities

1.Politics of food residency

https://kuonatrustblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/politics-of-food-residency/

2.Kenyatta University offering scholarships to art students

http://www.ku.ac.ke/fao/

3. Arts diary residency opportunity

http://www.margarettawagacheru.blogspot.com/2013/06/calling-young-kenyan-artist-new-artists.html

Picture of the month

Nai Ni who? festival

Kuona artists and staff at the  C -stunners public art performance,in collaboration with the Nai ni Who? project.

Read more about this in next month’s newsletter.

Plug in and give us your feedback:

Facebook Kuona Trust

Twitter:Kuona_Trust

Quote: “ What moves men to genius..what inspires their work,is not new ideas but their obsession with the idea that what has already been said is still not enough” -Eugene Delacroix

Have a great month!

Politics of Food Residency

POLITICS OF FOOD RESIDENCY

NOW OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS

Delfina Foundation (DF) is inviting artists, curators, writers, film makers and other cultural practitioners interested in exploring issues surrounding the politics of food to apply for our first theme-based residency, scheduled to run from mid January to mid April 2014.

From Marinetti’s Manifesto of Futurist Cooking to Gordon Matta Clark’s Food restaurant and more recently Michael Rakowitz’s Enemy Kitchen, artists have long employed food within their practice and creative process. But beyond the concept of cooking and eating as a performative act, the last decade has witnessed a proliferation of cultural practitioners and artist interrogating the global politics and ethics of food production, distribution and consumption.  Moreover, food has also been used by cultural practitioners as a means of understanding complex histories and questioning current issues, from neoliberalism to globalisation.

By bringing together practitioners from different creative fields, DF would like to explore how artistic strategies have and can be used to address wide-ranging issues related to food, agriculture, human rights and the environment. DF is particularly interested in practitioners whose work transgresses the boundaries between art and every day life.

By creating a focussed environment, DF aims to facilitate collaborative exchange fostering new ideas and projects. DF will support peer-to-peer conversations between residents through a series of informal gatherings and meals, as well as targeted organisational visits and opportunities to engage with artists, academics and researchers interested in the same lines of inquiry.  These internal events will be complemented with an external public programme of talks, screenings, dinners and panel discussions presenting the work, ideas and exchanges taking place.

The politics of food residency will launch a new residency model at DF around seasonal programmes, during which artists, curators and thinkers will be invited to stay at the foundation for short and long residencies to jointly discuss and explore salient issues in contemporary art. While DF has had a strong connection with the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) over the last six years, applicants from the around the world are invited to apply to this new programme which focuses on supporting common practices from the MENASA regions, alongside practitioners from other parts of the world.

The selected resident(s) will receive: A 12-week residency at DF in London, including accommodation in our newly opened premises in Victoria, one economy return flight, a bursary for per diems and a local travel allowance.

Application process

Applications are open to individuals from all nationalities as long as they are proficient in English.

DF is seeking applicants who have an interest in issues surrounding the politics of food but this need not be the sole or main inquiry in their practice.  We encourage applicants from the MENASA regions as well.

Applicants are expected to submit:

– A completed application form which will include a description of a project related to the politics of food theme that they have carried out, are working on or would like to develop in the future

– Recent CV/resume

– Portfolio (only one pdf file). Although there is no maximum number of images that will be accepted, we advise applicants to only submit relevant materials to reduce the size of email submissions. The images should include captions or short descriptions. For videos/films, please provide links to your own website, Vimeo page, YouTubepage, etc.  Do not attach actual video files.

Please submit only electronic copies of the above in ONE email under 8 MB to: residency@delfinafoundation.com.

In the subject line of your email, please specify:  Politics of Food Residency.

Timeline

Open Call: 10 June to 29 July 2013

Artists short-listed: 1 August 2013

Interviews with short-listed artists through Skype: 1 to 15 August 2013

Announcement of Selection: 19 August 2013

Residency Length: mid January – mid April 2014

Closing date for applications: 29 July 2013, 17:00 GMT

 

Films screening at the Spanish embassy

FILM SCHEDULE FOR 2013 IN THE EMBASSY

 The Embassy of Spain in Nairobi is pleased to outline the titles and dates of the films being shown at the Embassy throughout 2013:

Spain in the Kenyan European Film Festival:

1. Tuesday, 11th June – “Celda 211” (Cell number 211) (2009). Thriller.

 

More classical films:

1. Tuesday, 9th July – “El Abuelo” (The Grandfather), directed by José Luis Garci (1998).
2. Tuesday, 23^rd July – Las 13 Rosas (The 13 roses), directed by Emilio Martínez-Lázaro (2007).

 

Film series on comedies:

1. Tuesday, 10^th September – “Los muertos van deprisa, una historia de percebes” (The dead go fast) directed by Ángel de la Cruz (2011).
2. Tuesday, 24^th September – “Extraterrestre, una marcianada” (Extraterrestrial) directed by Nacho Vigalondo (2011).
3. Tuesday, 8^th October – “Un cuento chino” (A Chinese Tale) directed by Sebastian Borensztein (2011).

 

Documentary film on Spanish Culture:

1. Tuesday, 22nd Octuber – “Flamenco de raíz” (Flamenco Root) (2011), a documentary on the social identity of flamenco.

 

Film series on thrillers:

1. Tuesday, 12^th November – “Mientras duermes” (While you sleep), directed by Jaume Balaguero (2011).
2. Tuesday, 26^th November – “Silencio en la nieve” (Silence in the snow) directed by Gerardo Herrero (2011).
3. Tuesday, 10^th December – “No habrá paz para los malvados” (There will be no peace for the wicked) directed by Enrique Urbizu (2011).

 

Please remember that the films at the Embassy are shown free of charge and that all films are in Spanish with subtitles in English.

 

Location:     The Embassy of Spain, 3^rd Floor of the CBA building in Upperhill.

Days:            On the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday of the month as described above.

Time:             From 5pm. PLEASE BE PUNCTUAL.

 

Looking forward to see you there and thank you for sharing this information with your friends.

 

FREE ENTRY

 

Nai Ni who? Celebrating zone 10

Calling for the participation of all residents in zone 10- Ng’ong road,Kilimani, Adams,Ng’umo Area

From the 7th to the 14th of June 2013, we will be celebrating our zone as part of the Nai Ni Who? project

How well do you know your area? Who makes up zone 10? What would you like to celebrate in  your area?

Lots of cool activities lined up for you this week;we have a street party ,film screenings, food tastings, nyama choma plots and lots of activities lined up for you, so put on your seat belts and get ready  for action.

We start off with the opening of a one of a kind exhibition at Kuona Trust this Friday,  ‘Beyond stereotypes’ by Tonney Mugo from 6pm. There will also be a screening of the film ‘Ni Sisi’ by Safe Ghetto at Day star university the same day from 2pm.

Follow us on twitter @Kuona_trust and @NaiNiWho for more details.You can tag us in all the interesting pictures and videos you take of things happening in and around the festival.

Lets all plug in 🙂

The 2nd International Art Exhibtion in Nyanza, Rwanda.

Kuona Trust (some people) had the opportunity to attend the opening of the 2nd International Art Exhibition in Nyanza, Rwanda. Here’s an awesome account of the event from Kampala correspondent Anna Kućma.

Click on the link – http://addisrumble.com/?p=3303