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| Kenya art: Creatives imagine a new utopia for Nairobi | |
| (2 months later) | |
| Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, has long been known as “the green city in the sun” because of its mix of forest and grasslands among the urban sprawl, but it all depends on where you are viewing it from. | Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, has long been known as “the green city in the sun” because of its mix of forest and grasslands among the urban sprawl, but it all depends on where you are viewing it from. |
| Seen from one of the city’s comfortable apartment blocks or homes, then yes, perhaps – from one of its densely packed slums, then no. | Seen from one of the city’s comfortable apartment blocks or homes, then yes, perhaps – from one of its densely packed slums, then no. |
| There, life can be characterised by poverty and ecological disaster, such as flooding and deadly landslides. | There, life can be characterised by poverty and ecological disaster, such as flooding and deadly landslides. |
| But an art collective - Kairos Futura – has been trying to take what might seem like some of the city’s more dystopian elements and create a vision of a utopia, or at least how that might be achieved. | But an art collective - Kairos Futura – has been trying to take what might seem like some of the city’s more dystopian elements and create a vision of a utopia, or at least how that might be achieved. |
| Their exhibition Hakuna Utopia features the works of seven artists exploring themes of apocalypse and resilience – some in quite abstract ways - as they respond to the daily challenges endured by Nairobi’s six million residents. | Their exhibition Hakuna Utopia features the works of seven artists exploring themes of apocalypse and resilience – some in quite abstract ways - as they respond to the daily challenges endured by Nairobi’s six million residents. |
| Members of the collective worked together with AI to produce images of what an imagined future Nairobi could look like | Members of the collective worked together with AI to produce images of what an imagined future Nairobi could look like |
| One of the collective, Stoneface Bombaa, grew up in Mathare, the capital’s second-largest informal settlement. | One of the collective, Stoneface Bombaa, grew up in Mathare, the capital’s second-largest informal settlement. |
| He has overcome great odds to become an artist and wants to use his work to address the way that people in Mathare live – often lacking jobs, housing and education. | He has overcome great odds to become an artist and wants to use his work to address the way that people in Mathare live – often lacking jobs, housing and education. |
| Bombaa says they endure a “hand-to-mouth economy”, never sure where their next meal will come from. | Bombaa says they endure a “hand-to-mouth economy”, never sure where their next meal will come from. |
| “People are really angry,” he says, but through art, he feels he can “channel” his community’s anger into something positive as “art unites”. | “People are really angry,” he says, but through art, he feels he can “channel” his community’s anger into something positive as “art unites”. |
| Bombaa set out to create from the exhibitions “micro-utopia” sites dotted around the city. | Bombaa set out to create from the exhibitions “micro-utopia” sites dotted around the city. |
| He called it the “jungle room” and hoped to get people to connect with nature from within Mathare itself, in an attempt to bridge the ecological divide. | He called it the “jungle room” and hoped to get people to connect with nature from within Mathare itself, in an attempt to bridge the ecological divide. |
| Ironically, the building he had identified as a possible site was demolished by the authorities to make way for a road. | Ironically, the building he had identified as a possible site was demolished by the authorities to make way for a road. |
| The artists want people to draw inspiration from nature and their surroundings | The artists want people to draw inspiration from nature and their surroundings |
| Undeterred, he has been taking children from his community, often stuck living in unimaginable urban squalor, to experience Nairobi’s verdant parks and expose them to green spaces. | Undeterred, he has been taking children from his community, often stuck living in unimaginable urban squalor, to experience Nairobi’s verdant parks and expose them to green spaces. |
| “There are no trees or green spaces in Mathare,” Bombaa says. | “There are no trees or green spaces in Mathare,” Bombaa says. |
| But by contemplating the idea of utopia, he believes that he can imagine what it would be like if people in his community actually had unrestricted access to the city’s green spaces. | But by contemplating the idea of utopia, he believes that he can imagine what it would be like if people in his community actually had unrestricted access to the city’s green spaces. |
| In this way, people in his community can claim a right to access nature that is denied to them simply because they are poor. | In this way, people in his community can claim a right to access nature that is denied to them simply because they are poor. |
| Inspired by termite mounds, Coltrane McDowell imagines what interior architecture could look like | Inspired by termite mounds, Coltrane McDowell imagines what interior architecture could look like |
| Bombaa also complains about how ordinary Nairobians, often scrabbling to make a living, have to pay to enter some of their city’s most beautiful locations such as the arboretum or Karura forest. | Bombaa also complains about how ordinary Nairobians, often scrabbling to make a living, have to pay to enter some of their city’s most beautiful locations such as the arboretum or Karura forest. |
| The Kairos Futura team are also drawing inspiration from nature to use their imagination in how to address urgent environmental issues. | The Kairos Futura team are also drawing inspiration from nature to use their imagination in how to address urgent environmental issues. |
| For example, Coltrane McDowell has applied this to architecture. | For example, Coltrane McDowell has applied this to architecture. |
| In his work Invisible Cities, he was inspired by termite mounds to reimagine what architecture might look like in the future. | In his work Invisible Cities, he was inspired by termite mounds to reimagine what architecture might look like in the future. |
| Abdul Rop's work features a Swahili proverb which means "where there's a will there's a way" | Abdul Rop's work features a Swahili proverb which means "where there's a will there's a way" |
| Another artist in the show, Abdul Rop, known for his mesmerising woodcut prints and paintings, says that in order to “achieve utopia”, Nairobians need to work together. | Another artist in the show, Abdul Rop, known for his mesmerising woodcut prints and paintings, says that in order to “achieve utopia”, Nairobians need to work together. |
| “That's why the young people are agitating right now for change,” he says, suggesting they are frustrated by a corrupt political system that hems in their potential. | “That's why the young people are agitating right now for change,” he says, suggesting they are frustrated by a corrupt political system that hems in their potential. |
| Gen Z were at the forefront of protests this year against new tax measures, which saw the government make an embarrassing U-turn. | Gen Z were at the forefront of protests this year against new tax measures, which saw the government make an embarrassing U-turn. |
| Rop argues that by thinking about utopia through the lens of art, young people may find creative ways to fight for their future. | Rop argues that by thinking about utopia through the lens of art, young people may find creative ways to fight for their future. |
| Rather than being far-fetched, he thinks that it can help imagine a bolder and more equal future for his city. | Rather than being far-fetched, he thinks that it can help imagine a bolder and more equal future for his city. |
| “The moment to act for the future is now,” he says. | “The moment to act for the future is now,” he says. |
| Ajax Axe transformed school chairs into something more exciting and comfortable for the exhibition | Ajax Axe transformed school chairs into something more exciting and comfortable for the exhibition |
| You may also be interested in: | You may also be interested in: |
| The Ghanaian artist clothing London's brutalist icon | The Ghanaian artist clothing London's brutalist icon |
| How old Ugandan negatives are bringing families back to life | How old Ugandan negatives are bringing families back to life |
| The continent through its own lens | The continent through its own lens |
| ‘Bipolar, colour and me’ - an artist’s spreadsheet of emotion | ‘Bipolar, colour and me’ - an artist’s spreadsheet of emotion |
| Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. | |
| Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica |
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