Displacement and Refuge

Discussion: Displacement and Refuge – Refugees in Kenya, Apr. 28 2016 @ Goethe Institut

Displacement and Refuge
Date: April 28,2016
Venue: Goethe-Institut, Auditorium
Time: 6 pm
Admission: free

About
The second edition of Displacement and Refuge focuses on Somali Refugees in Kenya.

The panel will include Abdullahi Mire, a staff member from World Food Programme and will be moderated by Rasna Warah. Abdullahi Mire, who lived in Daadab for the better part of his life, started activism for the rights of refugees and continues to fight for the rights of refugees from Nairobi. He has written for Al Jazeera, CBC and UNHCR on refugee rights. Warah is a journalist and author and her research interests include the politics of aid, cities and urbanization, Somalia and questions surrounding identity in Kenya.

Of Ships Passing in the Night

Exhibition: Of Ships Passing in the Night, Apr. 27 – May 27 2016 @ Goethe Institut & Alliance Française

Of Ships Passing in the Night
“Of Ships Passing in the Night” is an art and photo exhibition which addresses the topic of migration and refuge.

Opening: Wednesday 27th April 2016, 6.30 pm
Exhibition Dates: Thursday 28th April to Friday 27th May 2016
Venue: Alliance Française and Goethe Institut
Admission: Free

About
Voluntary and forced mass movements have been some of the major phenomena of the last 100 years. Difficult realities and the aspiration towards a better future have compelled human beings to make the dicult decision to move elsewhere. Artists in most societies have created works that address not only the physicality of displacement but also the changes that emerge as a result of migration. Some of these changes are the trauma of forced displacement, the adjustment to new
influences and cultures, the plight of those left behind and the universal desire for holistic progress.

A number of Kenyan artists have interrogated the displacement of mankind in their work. Their approaches to this issue are diverse, ranging from personal and institutional rituals of travel to the anatomy of those trapped in a form of no-man’s land.

This exhibition provides a tiny snippet into some of the artistic engagements around the issue of ‘Migrations and Refugees’ taking place within Kenya. A number of additional practitioners who enrich this exhibition are currently classi ed as refugees. The exhibition has been developed by Peterson Kamwathi, assisted by Thom Ogonga.

Exhibiting Artists: Mugisho Abija, Hassan Abdirahman Barre, Muktar Bashir, Mahet Ecubay, Jackie Karuti, Kivuthi Mbuno, Noor Ali Mudey, Patrick Mukabi, Alpha Mukange Mukangala, Shabu Mwangi, Longinos Nagila, Martin Onyis, Ray Piwi, Michael Soi, Koang Thakiy Stephena, Feleke Gebryes Tariku, Hamwenayo Vivier Tresor and Willy Wambugu.

Photo exhibition
The exhibition uses images from Agence France Presse (AFP), Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) and Kenyan photographers to show the varying experiences of refugees in France, Germany and Kenya. The images show differing attitudes in and approaches by these countries in their eorts to control, embrace and facilitate the lives of refugees. The exhibition has been curated by Carl de Souza (AFP Chief Photographer, East Africa), Kirsten Milhan (Freelance Africa Correspondent, FOCUS-Magazine) and Thomas Mukoya (Kenya Reuters Photographer).

One Image, Three Perspectives

Critical Conversations: Reporting the plight of refugees in France, Germany & Kenya, Apr. 26 2016 @ Goethe-Institut Auditorium

One Image, Three Perspectives
Date and time: Tuesday 26th April 2016, 6.30 pm
Venue: Goethe-Institut, Auditorium
Admission: free

About
Journalists from France, Germany and Kenya will discuss the following questions. How is the refugee crisis presented by the media in France, Germany and Kenya? Who reports on which aspects and topics of the refugee crisis? Whose stories are told? What is the difference between the journalistic coverage in the three countries? Why is migration in many reports connected to questions of internal security and national defense?

The panel will be moderated by the Kenyan journalist and actor John Sibi-Okumu. The Kenyan participant will be Mohamed Adow, a Kenyan-Somalian journalist who is writing for Al Jazeera. The German contribution will be Katrin Lindner who is working for the German public-service television broadcaster ZDF. The French participant will be Andrea Palasciano who works for the French news agency AFP including the sector AFP Africa.

Exhibition: Divine Discontent by Beatrice Wanjiku, Apr. 30 – May 24 2016 @ One Off Contemporary Art Gallery

Opening/Private View: April 30, 2016
Venue: One Off Contemporary Art Gallery

Until: May 24, 2016

About
People believe in certain manners, predetermined conduct often according to pre-described behavioural norms of society. Anything counter to this is normally punished whereas “normalcy” is encouraged and rewarded.

In this series the straitjacket is a metaphor that explores boundaries, the idea of boundaries (social and self) and an imposed system of thought. The works delve into how we are anchored by social conditioning and expectation, always bound at the expense of what we desire. In this series the body of work is a reflection of the outward expression of our inner and intimate existence. The figures in these works explore the duality of the state of being and the natural intrinsic state of fulfilment and happiness.

Beatrice Wanjiku – Nairobi – April 2016

http://www.oneoffafrica.com/upcoming-exhibition.html