Given the theme of the workshop 'In Conversation'....a lot to converse indeed..Its been days of intensive discussions on arts practices around the world, and its so interesting to find out the structures of arts practices in other part of the world.
Conversations by the fire began at the welcome dinner at Kuona Trust in Nairobi. Whilst the drinks and music flowed, the conversation moved accordingly from the pressures and responsibilities of an artist to debates on whether two artists can live in both creative and holy matrimony.
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| Night conversation by the fire place |
In Naivasha, these late night informal conversations in the midst of hippos grazing, have drawn on shared experiences as visual artists and art writers. The mix of nationalities has added spice to the discussions, as has the addition of specialized ‘art materials’.
The morning After...
We have all been busy - talking, conversing, eating, drinking, traveling, walking, cycling, connecting, absorbing information, partying and having fun together for over a week now. The conception of the workshop as a “space” of conversation and sharing ideas and experiences, as a group and individually, has maneuvered its trail to interesting intellectual discourses on art and culture, thought and practice, networking and collaborations, ideas of art although the workshop does not expect a resultant art piece. Eclectic cross-cultural encounters were expected and obvious.
In Conversation is probably a first of its kind which does not expect artists to create a work of art, although they are free to and some of them are already in the process of creating.
At the morning sessions, outside of the conference rooms, away from computers and laptops, multiplicity trickles in, in the form of artists, writers and art professionals gathering to have dialogues and discussions on selected topics, some of which are:
Censorship
A discussion on the issue of censorship began with obvious questions of ‘Who has the right to censor?’ and ‘What stand should the artist take?’ Inter-connected with the idea of censorship that began with visual imagery (for example, nudity, sex, religious symbols, explicit representation of cultural and political figures and events), the discussion took a serious route, taking us into the dynamics of gallery systems, funding bodies, authorities with little or no knowledge about Art posing as the decision-makers and more such societal vices that most of us work our way through, irrespective of which country we belong to. Situating the autonomy of artists on the precipice of “the others” control.
Why is western art a benchmark to understand Kenyan art?
A discussion about Western art being taken as a benchmark in looking at African art took off with a description of the methodology that African, especially Kenyan art, is spoken about from the viewpoint of western art criticism. A handful of opinions from a handful of critics, lack of documentation and art history, lack of art colleges, faculties in art studies, and mostly people from outside the country, defining and judging Kenyan art are some common woes that have been echoing.
Diasporic experiences and Diaspora art
The discussion on Diaspora artists began with a question: What is expected out of Diaspora artists and the diasporic experience of cultural migration? While discussions circled around negotiations that an artist was urged to make between self and place, practice and altered locations, the larger issue that seemed to be looming over this subject was IDENTITY, which is the most intrinsic definition of an artists’ practice. A question was asked: What is Kenyan art?
Perhaps, hopefully, convincingly, these conversations are beginnings of an event, idea, artwork, collaboration, piece of text, a paper, or even a new form and structure of art workshops and residencies. Maybe these interactions are a stage for powerful ideas that bring forth issues and question the homogenized mainstream political and cultural (dictator) bodies.
The art scene in Kenya may lack serious art-writing, theory and criticism, but this workshop is proving to be a significant effort to fill that void space of knowledge, interaction and discourse, pushing the limits of intellectual discourse, among artists, making each individual artist a more conscientious practitioner.
Meanwhile, the artists are busy exploring their ideas and artworks!
Jigna Padhiar (India)- jjiigguu@gmail.com
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We all had to present our works.....
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| Every participant had to be part of the big canvas |
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| White board |
There was a large piece of canvas where everyone had to be part of.
Very interesting inputs from artist...
This white board was very significant. written on it are topics suggested by the participants for discussions..
we made a trip to naivasha town and I stopped by
some tailors shop and collected pieces of off cuts of kenyan prints
eventually it was useful for my work....
Lets see the work in progress... putting the off cuts together to achieve a piece....
Final piece....
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| Title: Kikoi, medium: Fabrics, size: 85cmX195cm, yr: 2011 |
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| kikoi (detail) |
Open day
27th August 2011
The open day was interesting with guest coming to share and interact with us. Also getting to see the outcome of the 14 days.
It was very insightful being in this workshop. thanks to kuona trust.......Enjoy!
