The Arts

Afropolis - City, Media, Art is an exhibition project, that is showcasing five big African cities: Cairo, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Kinshasa and Lagos. It is curated by Kerstin Pinther, Larissa Förster and Christian Hanussek. The project is supported, among others, by Bundeskulturstiftung, GTZ, the Auswärtiges Amt as well as Goethe-Institut Nairobi and Johannesburg.

The exhibition is shown as the first temporary exhibition at the new Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum in Cologne/Germany from the 5th November 2010 to the 13th March 2011. After this it will be exhibited at Iwalewa House/Bayreuth. A preview was exhibited in May in Nairobi at Goethe-Institut Nairobi.

The curatorial approach 
highlights the interconnectedness of scientific and artistic
concepts, not only exploring urban histories and recent developments,
 but also presenting 30 artistic viewpoints on issues of urbanity about and from these five cities. The works shown in Afropolis include graphic
arts, painting, photography, sculpture, installation, film and video
art, as well as design, comics and weblogs.



For more information about the exhibition and more details especially regarding the other four metropolises, please visit the Afropolis-website:

www.afropolis.net

ART WORKS FROM NAIROBI



The Way You Walk
Laura Horelli, 2010

In her video works, Berlin-based artist Laura Horelli primarily explores the interface between public and private spheres. The Way You Walk takes the artist back to places in Nairobi, where she spent several years as a child. She immerses herself in the world of the expatriates, the international specialists who work for the UN – as her own parents did – and for NGOs, and investigates the contradictions arising from their idealistic goals and the reality of their life and work.



Nairobizm
X-limits Design, 2010

X-limits Design is one of the leading matatu workshops in Nairobi. This is where matatus are vamped to reflect the latest design trends and technological developments.




Roomah
Sam Hopkins, 2010

In his work, Nairobi-based artist Sam Hopkins addresses issues around public space. Roomah explores the culture of Nairobi’s legendary matatu, the pimped minibus taxis which from outside are most notable for elaborate designs and very loud music. However, above all matatus are sites where social and gender relations are negotiated and urban mythologies produced. Roomah takes a closer look at the rumours circulating in and about matatus.



Upgradasion
Slum-TV, 2010

Slum-TV is a grass-roots initiative founded in 2006 in Mathare, Nairobi, primarily dedicated to producing documentary video clips. The Upgradasion installation produced the scenario of a slum development project in a style somewhere between a TV soap and a comic strip. Upgradasion provides an insight into the complex economies and power relations in a slum. Upgradation was developed in cooperation with Sam Hopkins, scriptwriter Charles Matathia, director Hawa Essuman and editor Chris King.



Warosho
Masai Mbili, 2010

Masai Mbili (Two Masai), an artists’ collective founded in 2001, works from shared studio rooms in Kibera, Nairobi. Warosho is a series of painted signs informed by the tradition of the local population giving certain locations in the city their own names. These names are signs of the appropriation of these locations and become general points of orientation in the city. Warosho, Sheng for back street, investigates the significance of these popular names. The artists involved in this project are Otieno Gomba, Kevin Irungu, Otieno Rabala, George “Ashif” Malamba and Mbuthia Maina.