Transcultural Perspectives in Art and Art Education and DUOS Festival (Photo Gallery)

Transcultural Perspectives in Art and Art Education – TPAAE is an international project participated in by academic and non-academic institutions from Poland, Italy and Kenya.

They are:  Academy of Art in Szczecin, Università degli Studi in Macerata, Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Pwani University in Kilifi, The National Museum in Szczecin and Distant Relatives Events Limited (Beneath the Baobabs) in Kilifi. The project was launched in 2020 and is going to be continued for 4 years. It has been financed from the resources of framework EU programme on scientific research and innovation Horizon 2020 according to the agreement no. 872718.

The institutions involved in the project take charge of research on traditional and contemporary art in East Africa and forms of artistic education in Europe and East Africa in a transcultural perspective. Transculturalism and the participation of researchers, artists and activists representing different countries, environments, fields of science, and artistic creativity allow for the elimination of egocentric, logocentric and ethnocentric perception and for the appreciation of cultural diversity.

The project has been carried out in three areas: theoretical, academic and practical ones. The theoretical aspect focuses on the study of the relationship between East African and European art, the academic task is to develop and implement the program in the field of fine arts and design at Pwani University in dialogue with European institutions, while the practical approach is activities supporting the development of the artistic scene in various areas of art in Kilifi County, Kenya.

 

A part of the project is DUOS Art and Education Festival, which is an exchange of knowledge and experience among the artists form Szczecin and from Kilifi County, Kenya.  

The idea of the festival is the cooperation of Polish and Kenyan artists performed by joint projects. The artists invited to participate in the Festival represent various disciplines of art: painting, sculpture, dance, performance, music, design, fashion, video, photography, architecture, street art.

Polish-Kenyan DUOS work together in Kilifi, Kenya. Within three weeks they have to get to know each other as well as to define and implement a joint project. During their work, they involve the local community, craftsmen and Pwani University students in their projects. Each DUO has its own separate place to work: a local school, a university hall, a street, a wall in the Mnarani district, a local painter's studio. As a result, their activities are available to other members of the community and visible to a wider audience and the progress of their work may be observed day by day. The effects of this extraordinary 3-week cooperation are presented at the Festival. The DUOS Festival is a 3-day celebration that includes open-air cinema, concerts, shows, games and activities for children, exhibitions, guided tours and studio presentations.

The first edition, entitled "Community”, took part in march this year. Its Curators were Zorka Wollny and Łukasz Jastrubczak. It was participated by the following DUOS:

Zippy Kimundu and Małgorzata Mazur (video)

Castro Osore and Anna Orlikowska (painting and sculpture)

Mohamed Mbwana Omar and Piotr Pauk (street art)

Wacu Kihara and Emilia Łapko (fashion design)

Richard Onyango and Zbigniew Rogalski (installation)

Mramba Mweni & Saidi Chengo and Łukasz Jastrubczak (contextual art)

Simba Wanga and Anna Nowicka (performance)

Biko Wesa and Witek Orski (photography)

The next stage of DUOS Festival is common work of chosen DUOS in Szczecin and the exhibition at The National Museum in Szczecin. 

Before the autumn exhibition, we present one of the projects created during the DUOS Festival in the city space, on tram stops. It is the result of cooperation between Kenyan fashion designer Wacu Kihara and Szczecin fashion photographer Emilia Łapko. During three weeks spent in Kenya, the artists, in cooperation with local tailors and a group of students, created a new collection using kangas  traditional patterned fabrics, and organized an amazing photo session.

More about TPAAE may be found here

DUOS Festival info may be found here

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Photo by: Emilia Łapko