Africana

So I finally got around to finding a permanent home (for the foreseeable future) online. I won’t be updating this site any more. So don’t accost me out there (Namesake from the Safaricom Jazz Festival, I see you) and blame me for not writing. Go find me here: http://www.wambuikamiru.com    

Media: BBC – How Do Kenyans Define Their Identity?

Listen to Xavier and Wycliffe talk about Who I Am, Who We Are during the exhibition at the Nairobi National Museum. They were talking to Paul Brown (BBC Focus on Africa). How Do Kenyans Define Their Identity?  

"I am different from other Kenyans - I am not a jack of all trades." Audio: Are you Kenyan?

This 50min audio recording from the Silent Room was collected from 5 cities and seven sites within these cities (Nairobi, Lamu, Kisumu, Isiolo and Nyeri). Recorded over a period of two years, this audio is a sample of over 1500 voices that are answering questions about what it actually means to be Kenyan. (Spoken in English and Kiswahili). “I am different from other Kenyans because I am not a…

The exhibition which includes the Silent Room, body maps, a sound installation, a video  and photographs from the project seeks to engage the audience on what it means to “be” Kenyan.

Body maps

The Silent Room

Films from the different sites

Seven questions about Kenyan identity.

The Who I Am, Who We Are Exhibtion

"There is actually a colonial leftover cultural distinction and it something that I feel is still in my life," #WhoWeAreKE Wind of Change

“In 1925, my family came to Kenya and I picked just five very important strategic positions from my family and history. If my family didn’t come here then I wouldn’t have what I have, so I’m extra-ordinarily grateful to them for having made that decision to come.” The artist is a member of one of the newest political parties in Kenya. Her father was instrumental to Kenya attaining her…

“I was the only mzungu in the whole class. And it was younger Kenyans, middle class and educated. I was nervous about it." - #WhoWeAreKE

“I was the only mzungu in the whole class. And it was younger Kenyans, middle class and educated. I was nervous about it.” The creator of this piece is a photographer who was born in Kenya. After Kenya refused her a passport, (both her parents had British Passports and one of them was born in Kenya), she was given a British passport when she was seven years old and she is currently trying to get…

"I am white, and many Kenyans tell me I can never truly belong here. They don’t care how long I have lived here." #WhoWeAreKE

“I am white, and many Kenyans tell me I can never truly belong here. They don’t care how long I have lived here, or that I speak Kiswahili. According to them, I will never be a Kenyan.” The creator of this piece was born and raised in Kenya. She has dedicated most of her life to studying and recording Samburu culture before it disappears. She is now in her 70s. “I am white, and many Kenyans tell…

“Someone in power at the top may be from your tribe but you will sleep hungry, unless you work hard.” - I Pray for Peace #WhoWeAreKE

Lastly, some one in power at the top may be from your tribe but you will sleep hungry, unless you work hard. The mother of two who created this piece is an artist. She was born in Nakuru but moved to Lamu where she now lives. “Everybody has a different thought about the other and about Kenya. “ I have been painting but I didn’t think I could have painted the answer to a question about your…

“The thought of the Government doing everything for us has been thwarted. A feeling of being oppressed has also been lifted.” The Wisdom of the Past #WhoWeAreKE

“The thought of the Government doing everything for us has been thwarted. A feeling of being oppressed has also been lifted as reality has been made open.” The artist is a young man who is an acrobat and fisherman in Lamu. “The thought of the Government doing everything for us has been thwarted. A feeling of being oppressed has also been lifted as reality has been made open.” I’m proud to have…

“When the flag is coming up, all of us feel Kenyan, we feel like one thing. The feeling gets inside our hearts and we know that something special is up there.” - Hakuna Matata #WhoWeAreKE

“When the flag is coming up, all of us feel Kenyan, we feel like one thing. The feeling gets inside our hearts and we know that something special is up there.” The artist is a young man who was born on Pate Island and who now lives in Lamu. “When the flag is coming up, all of us feel Kenyan, we feel like one thing. The feeling gets inside our hearts and we know that something special is up…

"Without patriotism one should not be called a citizen of that country. Because of that I am Kenyan, similar to other Kenyans." - My Life Line #WhoWeAreKE

“Without patriotism one should not be called a citizen of that country. Because of that I am Kenyan, similar to other Kenyans.” This piece was created by a 75yr old man who lives in Lamu. Here is his story: “Without patriotism one should not be called a citizen of that country. Because of that I am Kenyan, similar to other Kenyans.” I’m proud being Kenyan whether I’m in Lamu which is part of…

#WhoWeAreKE – Her Excellency Sharifa

The artist is from Lamu, she is a Lamu County Councilor. She hopes to one day be Madam President. “And even if an incident like Mpeketoni (God forbid) happens, you can come to my place and hide yourself and vice versa.” “And even if an incident likes the Mpeketoni (God forbid) happens, you can come to my place and hide yourself and vice versa.” I’m from Lamu in the coast, here is the sea, our…

#YourNameBetraysYou followed on the very famous words by Former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka who unknowingly but profoundly pointed to the conversations that we have in private concerning “the other tribe.” The installation sought to bring to public what we say about other ethnic groups and consisted of a wall of all the stereotypes we hold for each other, some known some unknown. The…

“I am moving out. Tomorrow.” was created as part of the group show “Concerning the Internal” at Circle Art Gallery. It was a personal piece that showed the movement from love to loss and the process it took to get the occupier of the room to reach the decision to leave her failing marriage. It was a snapshot of the room and woman’s state at 3:23am on the morning that she leaves her marital home.…