{"id":19814,"date":"2024-11-30T05:54:47","date_gmt":"2024-11-30T05:54:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=19814"},"modified":"2024-11-30T05:54:47","modified_gmt":"2024-11-30T05:54:47","slug":"artists-imagine-a-new-utopia-for-kenyas-capital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/?p=19814","title":{"rendered":"Artists imagine a new utopia for Kenya's capital"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"KairosKairos Futura<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n
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Kenya\u2019s capital, Nairobi, has long been known as \u201cthe green city in the sun\u201d because of its mix of forest and grasslands among the urban sprawl, but it all depends on where you are viewing it from.<\/p>\n

Seen from one of the city\u2019s comfortable apartment blocks or homes, then yes, perhaps \u2013 from one of its densely packed slums, then no.<\/p>\n

There, life can be characterised by poverty and ecological disaster, such as flooding and deadly landslides.<\/p>\n

But an art collective – Kairos Futura \u2013 has been trying to take what might seem like some of the city\u2019s more dystopian elements and create a vision of a utopia, or at least how that might be achieved.<\/p>\n

Their exhibition Hakuna Utopia features the works of seven artists exploring themes of apocalypse and resilience \u2013 some in quite abstract ways – as they respond to the daily challenges endured by Nairobi\u2019s six million residents.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"KairosKairos Futura<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Members of the collective worked together with AI to produce images of what an imagined future Nairobi could look like<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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One of the collective, Stoneface Bombaa, grew up in Mathare, the capital\u2019s second-largest informal settlement.<\/p>\n

He has overcome great odds to become an artist and wants to use his work to address the way that people in Mathare live \u2013 often lacking jobs, housing and education.<\/p>\n

Bombaa says they endure a \u201chand-to-mouth economy\u201d, never sure where their next meal will come from.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are really angry,\u201d he says, but through art, he feels he can \u201cchannel\u201d his community\u2019s anger into something positive as \u201cart unites\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bombaa set out to create from the exhibitions \u201cmicro-utopia\u201d sites dotted around the city.<\/p>\n

He called it the \u201cjungle room\u201d and hoped to get people to connect with nature from within Mathare itself, in an attempt to bridge the ecological divide.<\/p>\n

Ironically, the building he had identified as a possible site was demolished by the authorities to make way for a road.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"KairosKairos Futura<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The artists want people to draw inspiration from nature and their surroundings<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Undeterred, he has been taking children from his community, often stuck living in unimaginable urban squalor, to experience Nairobi\u2019s verdant parks and expose them to green spaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no trees or green spaces in Mathare,\u201d Bombaa says.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s green spaces.<\/p>\n

In this way, people in his community can claim a right to access nature that is denied to them simply because they are poor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"KairosKairos Futura<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Inspired by termite mounds, Coltrane McDowell imagines what interior architecture could look like <\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Bombaa also complains about how ordinary Nairobians, often scrabbling to make a living, have to pay to enter some of their city\u2019s most beautiful locations such as the arboretum or Karura forest.<\/p>\n

The Kairos Futura team are also drawing inspiration from nature to use their imagination in how to address urgent environmental issues.<\/p>\n

For example, Coltrane McDowell has applied this to architecture.<\/p>\n

In his work Invisible Cities, he was inspired by termite mounds to reimagine what architecture might look like in the future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"KairosKairos Futura<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Abdul Rop’s work features a Swahili proverb which means “where there’s a will there’s a way”<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Another artist in the show, Abdul Rop, known for his mesmerising woodcut prints and paintings, says that in order to \u201cachieve utopia\u201d, Nairobians need to work together.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s why the young people are agitating right now for change,\u201d he says, suggesting they are frustrated by a corrupt political system that hems in their potential.<\/p>\n

Gen Z were at the forefront of protests<\/a> this year against new tax measures, which saw the government make an embarrassing U-turn.<\/p>\n

Rop argues that by thinking about utopia through the lens of art, young people may find creative ways to fight for their future.<\/p>\n

Rather than being far-fetched, he thinks that it can help imagine a bolder and more equal future for his city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe moment to act for the future is now,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"KairosKairos Futura<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Ajax Axe transformed school chairs into something more exciting and comfortable for the exhibition<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

You may also be interested in:<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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\"GettyGetty Images\/BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Source: <\/em> www.bbc.com\u2026<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kairos Futura Kenya\u2019s capital, Nairobi, has long been known as \u201cthe green city in the sun\u201d 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\u2019s comfortable apartment blocks or homes, then yes, perhaps \u2013 from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19814\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpt.m2mbeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}