By Ogova Ondego
Published September 24, 2011
An exhibition of works by 12 artists opens at the Nairobi National Museum on September 30, 2011 at 6.00 PM.The exhibition, a collection of installation and performances specifically designed for this occasion, “is the result of an innovative research on contemporary art, museums, collective memory and national identity, among other ideas,” says a media release from the organisers.Titled ‘The Proud, The Shy and the Angry: Many (Hi)Stories, One Museum’, this is the product of a two-week workshop on conceptual art facilitated by Irene Izquierdo of Spain.
The work on show is by Gilbert Ouma, Susan Ngure, Abdilatif Hussein, Noor Jefwa, Zihan Kassam, Paul Mutuku, Anne Mwiti, William S. Ndwiga, Esther Mukuhi, Aggrey Agwata, Alacoque Ntome and Dennis Ruigu Kabucho.
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The event is organised by the Embassy of Spain in collaboration with the National Museums of Kenya. Entry is free.
100,000 Poets for Change
Meanwhile, the Centre for Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal) and Poetry Africa presented a special Heritage Day programme as part of the 100,000 Poets for Change project in Durban, South Africa on September 24, 2011. This endeavour, initiated by Californian poets Michael Rothenberg and Terri Carriòn, saw worldwide poetic action in 500 cities in 93 countries across the planet. The project invited poets and poetry organisations everywhere to compile their own programmes around social, environmental, and political change.This was an advance programme for the 15th Poetry Africa international poetry festival which will take place in Durban October 17-22, 2011.
The Poetry Africa event in Durban, South Africa, focused on environmental challenges as poets, musicians, artists, and humanitarians gathered in a collaborative effort to drive environmental conservation awareness.
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This free outdoor event took place from 15h30 at Durban’s Green Hub, an environmental sanctuary nestled among trees near Blue Lagoon, where the Umgeni River enters the Indian Ocean. The programme included live music, open mic opportunities for poets to express their thoughts and feelings about the environment and related issues, and a poetry weaving session where everybody was welcome to write on a sheet of cloth a few lines of poetry focusing on the environment. Guest participants included Gcina Mhlophe, Patrick Bond, Busisiwa Gqulu, Sakhile STP Shabalala, Siphamandla Xaba, and the New Diva Jazz Ensemble.
The evening concluded with a special sunset film screening of the Lucy Walker film, WASTE LAND,which won three awards at the 2010 Durban International Film Festival: Best Documentary, the Amnesty International Award and the Audience Choice Award.
The 100,000 Poets for Change programme is aligned to the newly formed World Poetry Movement (WPM). Poets can register at worldpoetrymovement@gmail.com or visit the World Poetry Movement website at wpm2011.org.
