"Women Power" continues DUOS Festival collaborations between artists from Kenya and from Poland, who are providing audiences with a practical look at shared influences of art made in Africa and in Europe. Initiated by the Academy of Art in Szczecin and in partnership with an array of international institutions, the exchanges celebrate the strength and solidarity of women in East Africa that has endured since the region's successful struggle for independence from their Colonial rulers more than a half-century ago.
Hosted by the National Museum in Szczecin – Museum of Contemporary Art, the DUOS Festival exhibition reunites artist duos that worked together in Kilifi, a coastal town in Kenya that is among the beneficiaries of the Transcultural Perspectives in Art and Art Education (TPAAE) project of which the festival is a part. Curated by Art Academy Prof. Zorka Wollny and Ciro G, an artist and activist from Kilifi, "Women Power" took place in September and many of the works made for that exhibit are on display in Szczecin.
Together with the "Community" exhibition, staged in March, that also is replicated at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the DUOS Festivals are part of TPAAE's ambitious artistic, educational and research outreach. Along with a third DUOS Festival installment, scheduled for 2022, the project is creating degree courses in fine art and design at Pwani University in Kilifi and instruction provided to teachers of more than 3,000 school children in the surrounding county.
"Women Power" pays spiritual tribute to Mekatilili wa Menza, a grandmother and village elder from the Giriama community whose defiance of a British governor inspired her tribe to rise up against Colonial rule. The Giriama are among the Mijikenda cultures that dominate in Kenya's coastal region. Following Mekatilili's example, they openly opposed being drafted to fight for Britain in the first World War – a prelude to revolts that ended British rule in Kenya in 1963.
Mekatilili's escape from an uplands prison and her long journey back to lead the coastal revolt lives on in lore and legend among the Mijikenda, who today revere her as a symbol of independence, wisdom and leadership. Artists in the exhibition use Mekatilili as a touchstone in works that refer as much to history as to the plight of women in contemporary Kenya, where domestic violence, sexual assault and economic exclusion are facets of the country's patriarchal culture.
Conjuring Mekatilili's achievements inspires both creativity and entrepreneurship. Pairs of artists from Poland and Kenya worked on joint projects with the help and participation of Pwani University students, local artisans, musicians, dancers and social activists. Along with the "Community" DUOS Festival, curated by Zorka Wollny and Łukasz Jastrubczak, Kilifi residents participated in a variety of events. They included KIDS Sessions workshops at local elementary schools conducted by educators from the Università degli Studi di Macerata in Macerata, Italy, a TPAAE partner institution.
Among the works on show from DUOS Festival "Women Power" are:
An animated retelling of the Mekatilili legend made by Iza Plucińska and Sheila Okanga, along with students from Pwani University. The film depicts Mekatilili slapping the district commissioner who killed the chicken she'd used to express her opposition to the conscripting of Giriama boys into the British Army. A three-minute etude set to Kilifi poet Shangazi Masika's "Daughters in Law" accompanies the work and praises love and solidarity among women.
A scale-model mock-up for a sculpture entitled "Ushaha fitswa" (Hidden Treasure), which artists Shaila Resia Agha and Aneta Grzeszykowska conceived to honor the DUOS Festival patron. The artists envision sub-sea placement of their monumental mask sculpture near the mouth of Kilifi Creek, where it will provide a habitat for marine life in an area suffering from environmental damage to the coral reef that buffers local beaches against erosion by the Indian Ocean.
A display of ceramic tiles made by Fauzia Aly Khan and Anna Molska, who together with students from Pwani University decorated the wall of an elementary school serving a Giriama community. The women exchanged methods and materials, learning one from the other about clays and pigments as they created a porcelain mosaic inspired by traditional Kenyan patterns.
Textiles made from natural fabrics and dyes created by Ciru Karimi and Irena Zieniewicz, who incorporated pigments obtained from leaves, seeds, bark and roots of plants in their works. The work also refers to the environmental protection.
A spectacle entitled "Gama Ra Kimbi" (Woman's Power) that praises female strength and independence. Written and composed by Shangazi Masika and Alicja Pilarczyk, the operatic work sets a libretto that features stories of Kilifi women against a score comprised of classical and popular music, including songs performed by the local “Tumaini” (Hope) choir.
A dance performance fusing ritual and tradition with contemporary club culture. Choreographers Faith Kwamboka and Marta Ziółek trained student dancers from Pwani University and enlisted DJs and rappers in a challenging work that slays colonial spirits and confronts tribal taboos in equal measure.
Images and artefacts from a celebration in Street Art of themes and experiences common to women in Kenya. Gathered by artists Linda Shuma and Natalia Szostak from members of the Kesho Kenya educational organization, their stories provided the basis for the stenciled slogans spray-painted on the walls of the Pwani University campus and around the town of Kilifi in an effort to raise awareness about the traditions and determinants that locate women in the country's male-dominated culture.
A magazine compendium of stories that explore the challenges Kenyan women face on a daily basis and their triumph over personal, social and political adversity. Written by aspiring journalists, writers, bloggers and poets, the MekaZine supervised by Ciro G. and Justyna Machnicka is the flagship publication of the Daughters of Mekatilili collective that members created in Kilifi to represent female artists in the county and on the coast.
Companion events for the DUOS Festival "Women Power" exhibition include:
- November 4 at 13.00 – meeting with Joyce Kinyanjui, Chief Curator of the National Museum of Kenya in Nairobi, National Museum in Szczecin, Wały Chrobrego (the meeting will be translated from English into Polish)
- November 4 at 19.00 – poetry and music performance by Shangazi Masika and Alicja Pilarczyk with the participation of Zespół Muzyki Współczesnej Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie, the National Museum in Szczecin – Museum of Contemporary Art, Staromłyńska 1
- November 13 at 17.00-18.00 – meeting with artists and curators, guided tour of the exhibition, National Museum in Szczecin, Museum of Contemporary Art, Staromłyńska 1
- November 14 at 17.00-18.00 – meeting with artists and curators, guided tour of the exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Staromłyńska 1
In addition to the Academy of Art in Szczecin, the National Museum in Szczecin, Pwani University and Università degli Studi di Macerata, TPAAE partners include Kenyatta University in Nairobi and Distant Relatives Events, Ltd., in Kilifi. The project's main goal is the exchange of experiences in the fields of traditional and contemporary art in Poland and Kenya through mutual learning about artistic practices and forms of artistic education.
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Women Power
12.11.2021–16.01.2022
The National Museum in Szczecin – Museum of Contemporary Art
Artists: Shaila Resia Agha & Aneta Grzeszykowska, Sheila Okanga & Iza Plucińska, Fauzia Aly Khan & Anna Molska, Faith Kwamboka & Marta Ziółek, Ciro G. & Justyna Machnicka, Linda Shuma & Natalia Szostak, Shangazi Masika & Alicja Pilarczyk, Ciru Karimi & Irena Zieniewicz, Jan Smaga, Zuza Wollny
Curators: Marlena Chybowska-Butler, Łukasz Jastrubczak, Zorka Wollny
Cooperation: Ewa Prądzyńska
Text: Marlena Chybowska-Butler, Łukasz Jastrubczak
Proofreading: Rick Butler (ENG)
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 872718.
