Nairobi — A State of Mind Cooperation Goethe-Institut Nairobi ...
Nairobi — A State of Mind Cooperation Goethe-Institut Nairobi ... Nairobi — A State of Mind Cooperation Goethe-Institut Nairobi ...
Process is a critical component of the work, which is often project-based and long-term. Projects such as Slum TV and Urban Mirror, a collective of public space activists in Nairobi of which he is an active member, have been built up and developed over many years. However, he also explores more immediate and lyrical responses to the city as demonstrated in his solo work of performances, inter- ventions, and installations. His recent work investigates the peculiarities and aesthetics of the »development« sector which is of powerful symbolic importance in Kenya. Born in 1979 in Rome, he was raised in Kenya and England before studying History and Spanish in Edinburgh and Cuba. He proceeded to postgraduate studies in Contem- porary Art at Oxford and Weimar, returning to Nairobi on a permanent basis in 2006. Since then he has co-founded the media collective Slum TV with Alexander Nikolic, and in 2008 he helped found Urban Mirror, a group of public space activists. As well as working on these long-term projects, he has participated in, both as artist and curator, a broad spectrum of local and international exhibitions. Notable amongst these are: CPHDOX, Copenhagen Documentary Film Festival, Denmark (2008); It’s a pity we only exist in the future, Goethe-Institut Nairobi, Kenya (2009); Transmediale, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin (2009); Sketches (solo show), Goethe-Institut Nairobi, Kenya (2010); Mwangalio Tofauti, Nairobi Museum, Kenya (2010); Afropolis, Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, Cologne (2010); Qui Vive II Moscow International Biennale, Moscow (2010); Not in the Title (solo show), Iwalewa-Haus, University of Bayreuth, Germany (2011); The Urban Culture of Global Prayers, NGBK, Berlin. Laura Horelli Laura Horelli (born 1976, Helsinki) is a Berlin-based artist working primarily in experimental documentary video. She has participated in the Venice Biennale (2001, 2009); Manifesta 5, San Sebastián, Spain (2004); and ARS 11, Kiasma, Helsinki (2011). Horelli’s work has been shown in solo exhibitions at Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck (2004); Goethe-Institut Kenya (2010); and Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin (2003, 2007, 2011). In 2011 she received the Hannah Höch Prize for Young Artists from the City of Berlin. Horelli was an artist-in-residence at Villa Aurora in Los Angeles in 2007 and will spend six months at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in Brooklyn in 2013. Page 6 | 14
Peterson Kamwathi Waweru Peterson Kamwathi Waweru started practicing art at the Kuona Trust art studios. His work is an attempt to interrogate his social, economic, and cultural position. He has for some time now been focusing on the anatomy and psychology of queues, where the administrative and social place of queues has tended to act as a manifestation of humanities’ upheavals and shifts. Kamwathi is currently researching the place, role, and meaning of processions in contemporary ceremonies and protocols. Kamwathi has had four solo exhibitions to date and his work has been exhibited in Kenya, Great Britain, the USA, Holland, Austria, El Salvador, and Finland. He participated in the exchange program of the Fontys School of Fine and Performing Arts, Tilburg, the Netherlands in 2003; the Kenya Artists-in-Residence Program at the University of Kentucky in 2005; printmaking residencies at the London Print Studio and Bath Spa University College in 2006; Thupelo International Artists 2006 Workshop in Rorke’s Drift, South Africa in 2006; the Wasanii International Artists Workshop in 2004, 2006, and 2008; and Art Omi International Artists Residency program, New York, in 2009; the Nairobi Arts Trust’s Amnesia Conversations and the Jet-Lag Experiment Project in 2008 and 2009; artist- in-residence at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten 2010; Dak’Art Biennale of Contemporary African Art, Dakar, Senegal, 2010; Sommerakademie Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, Switzerland, 2011; and Civitella Ranieri Fellowship, Italy, 2012. He lives in Kiambu, Kenya. Maasai Mbili Maasai Mibili (in translation »Two Maasais«) is a commu- nity based artist group that was started in 2001 by two artists, Otieno Gomba and Otieno Kota, who initially worked as sign writers in Kibera. Today Maasai Mbili has eight active members (and a handful of promising students/aspiring members closely connected to the core group). None of the members are Maasais. The name of the group demonstrates rather the humoristic approach the M2 group takes to its work. In 2003 M2 acquired a space, a two story structure, originally a pub, and turned it into a studio and a gallery, »The M2 Art Centre«. Almost all of M2’s activities are focused on Kiberan development, through community interaction. Maasai Mbili is an offi- cially registered community based organization (CBO), and as such the group has for years been a strong and indepen- dent, active and well-known force within Kibera based community development, its achievements have repeatedly been acclaimed, most recently by the American ambassa- dor, who visited the M2 Art Centre to thank them for their peace-keeping activities during post-election violence. Page 7 | 14
- Page 1 and 2: KUB Arena 2012.04 | Press release N
- Page 3 and 4: What they all share is reference to
- Page 5: Short Biographies Jacob Barua Jacob
- Page 9 and 10: James lives and works in Nairobi, a
- Page 11 and 12: Maasai Mbili, Chokora Wear, 2011 Wh
- Page 13 and 14: Partners and Sponsors The Kunsthaus
Process is a critical component <strong>of</strong> the work, which is <strong>of</strong>ten<br />
project-based and long-term. Projects such as Slum TV<br />
and Urban Mirror, a collective <strong>of</strong> public space activists in<br />
<strong>Nairobi</strong> <strong>of</strong> which he is an active member, have been built<br />
up and developed over many years. However, he also<br />
explores more immediate and lyrical responses to the city<br />
as demonstrated in his solo work <strong>of</strong> performances, inter-<br />
ventions, and installations. His recent work investigates the<br />
peculiarities and aesthetics <strong>of</strong> the »development« sector<br />
which is <strong>of</strong> powerful symbolic importance in Kenya.<br />
Born in 1979 in Rome, he was raised in Kenya and England<br />
before studying History and Spanish in Edinburgh and<br />
Cuba. He proceeded to postgraduate studies in Contem-<br />
porary Art at Oxford and Weimar, returning to <strong>Nairobi</strong> on a<br />
permanent basis in 2006. Since then he has co-founded the<br />
media collective Slum TV with Alexander Nikolic, and in<br />
2008 he helped found Urban Mirror, a group <strong>of</strong> public<br />
space activists. As well as working on these long-term<br />
projects, he has participated in, both as artist and curator,<br />
a broad spectrum <strong>of</strong> local and international exhibitions.<br />
Notable amongst these are: CPHDOX, Copenhagen<br />
Documentary Film Festival, Denmark (2008); It’s a pity we<br />
only exist in the future, <strong>Goethe</strong>-<strong>Institut</strong> <strong>Nairobi</strong>, Kenya<br />
(2009); Transmediale, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin<br />
(2009); Sketches (solo show), <strong>Goethe</strong>-<strong>Institut</strong> <strong>Nairobi</strong>,<br />
Kenya (2010); Mwangalio T<strong>of</strong>auti, <strong>Nairobi</strong> Museum, Kenya<br />
(2010); Afropolis, Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, Cologne<br />
(2010); Qui Vive II Moscow International Biennale, Moscow<br />
(2010); Not in the Title (solo show), Iwalewa-Haus,<br />
University <strong>of</strong> Bayreuth, Germany (2011); The Urban Culture<br />
<strong>of</strong> Global Prayers, NGBK, Berlin.<br />
Laura Horelli<br />
Laura Horelli (born 1976, Helsinki) is a Berlin-based artist<br />
working primarily in experimental documentary video. She<br />
has participated in the Venice Biennale (2001, 2009);<br />
Manifesta 5, San Sebastián, Spain (2004); and ARS 11,<br />
Kiasma, Helsinki (2011). Horelli’s work has been shown in<br />
solo exhibitions at Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck (2004);<br />
<strong>Goethe</strong>-<strong>Institut</strong> Kenya (2010); and Galerie Barbara Weiss,<br />
Berlin (2003, 2007, 2011). In 2011 she received the<br />
Hannah Höch Prize for Young Artists from the City <strong>of</strong><br />
Berlin. Horelli was an artist-in-residence at Villa Aurora in<br />
Los Angeles in 2007 and will spend six months at the<br />
International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in<br />
Brooklyn in 2013.<br />
Page 6 | 14
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