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Centering Black Literature: An Interview with James Murua- engl/ger
In the run-up to the African Book Festival in Berlin, of which cultureafrica.net is a media partner, there will be a series of interviews with participants and experts in the African literary scene. This time it is James Murua. He is one of the most influential bloggers in the African literary scene. He has attended many literary festivals, both nationally and internationally. His website jamesmurua.com is one of the most successful on the continent. James Murua lives with his wife, the writer Zukiswa Wanner, in Nairobi, Kenya. The interview was conducted during the Heroe Book Fair literary festival in Mombasa.
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The Sound and the City: Nairobi in a multimedia exhibition by art project Norient engl/ger
It’s colourful, it’s wacky, virtuosic and mega interesting, its the sound and the city: Norient’s art project has attempted to explore an entire city under the aspect of sound. The result is an exciting audiovisual inventory of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. They call it an audio-visual gallery. A gallery for contemporary music, quality journalism, research, project work and also events. FOR GERMAN VERSION PLEASE SCROLL DOWN by hans hofele Nairobi is the first city and the start of a planned series of audio-visual explorations of global cities. In times when travelling to cities is either financially impossible or poorly possible due to restrictions from visas to Corona, Norient seeks to make these journeys possible virtually. For visitors from the West,…
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A phantastic Mombasa journey: The House of Rust – Book Review by Lorna Likiza – engl/ger
A phantastic Mombasa journey: "The House of Rust is an enchanting novel about a Hadhrami girl in Mombasa. When her fisherman father goes missing, Aisha takes to the sea on a magical boat made of a skeleton to rescue him. She is guided by a talking scholar’s cat (and soon crows, goats, and other animals all have their say, too). On this journey Aisha meets three terrifying sea monsters." (Graywolf Press) Khadija Abdallah Bajaber's, THE HOUSE OF RUST, is proof of that the fantasy genre has a future in Kenyan literature.
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Softie – Kenya’s Political Documentary Sensation – Interview with Sam Soko and Njeri Mwangi
Boniface “Softie” Mwangi has long fought injustices in his country as a political activist. Now he’s running for office in a regional Kenyan election. Softie follows Boniface from the moment Boniface decides to run, telling his wife, Njeri, in passing with a hesitant laugh, he responds to each challenge with optimism. But running a clean campaign against corrupt opponents becomes increasingly harder to combat with idealism alone. And Boniface soon finds that challenging strong political dynasties is putting his family at risk. Should country really come before family, as he’s always believed?
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Invisible Inventories – Nairobi – Cologne – now Frankfurt – Interview mit/with Leonie Neumann ger/engl
We do not avoid conflicts, but certainly this project has become very big and has connected many houses. It is also an opportunity for our house to learn from it for future projects, to grow from it and also to learn through dialogue and discussion with those affected, the representatives of the communities.
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Gede Ruins: Digging through History Part 2 – Historische Grabungen in Gede/Kenia teil 2
We will go as deep as possible until we cannot recover any artefact. Prof. Kusimba informs. And even as they dig, there is still no evidence of any Arab presence in Gede, contrary to popular and persistent belief.
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Gede Ruins – Digging through History – Ausgrabungen in Gede/Kenia
In two parts, Lorna Likiza explores the remains of an ancient Swahili City at the Kenyan Coast, with a focus on the ongoing archaeological project at the historical site, being carried out by Prof. Chapurukha Kusimba.
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Travelling While Black – Nanjala Nyabola’s Book as an Insta Live Discussion engl/ger
To add salt to injury, the discussion of the termini for African travelers being on the furthest end in airports and the stark difference in business classes in airplanes flying to Africa when compared to those whose destinations are overseas was equally raised on this IG Live. The last chapter in Nyabola’s book which Arunga pointed out is titled Small Acts Of Resistance. The chapter actually challenges the reader to consider what they can do in their own small capacities to solve some issues such as pollution and exploitation among others.
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How Indian cinema shaped East Africa’s urban culture -Indien und Ostafrika – eine Filmbeziehung
Die 60er, 70er und 80er Jahre werden oft als das Goldene Zeitalter des indischen Kinos bezeichnet und in Nairobi, Mombasa und Kisumu gab es eine große Anzahl von Kinos, die sich der Vorführung von Filmen aus Bombay widmeten.Der ostafrikanisch-asiatische Einfluss auf die Kinokultur in der Region wird nicht oft erkannt, auch wenn indische Filme über Jahrzehnte Landschaften, Mode, populäre Bilder und Musikgenres prägten. Von Nairobi über Kampala bis Sansibar vermittelten indische Filme Wissen, vereinten Familien und boten vielen Träume und Fluchten, vor allem in den 60er, 70er und 80er Jahren, einer Zeit, die als das goldene Zeitalter der indischen Kinokultur in der Region gilt. The 60s, 70s, and 80s are often described as the Golden Age of Indian cinema…
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When Hakuna Matata becomes a phrase in English – Und Disney afrikanische Traditionen kauft
Essay by Lorna Likiza I visited Tanzania and Zanzibar in my last year of primary school on an organized school trip. It was in Zanzibar, touring the baths of the Sultan, his wives and concubines, that I decided I wanted to pursue a travel related course in university. I was 13 years old at the time. Eight years later, I enrolled at the University of Nairobi for my studies. As a Kenyan, I had grown up being aware of the Kenyan tourism sector and its significance to our economy. I knew that the rest of the world also knew about our big game and the Maasai tribe. As a matter of fact, I reveled in the fact that…
