We had the chance to chat with 5 filmmakers based here in Nairobi, Kenya who, each propelled by their love for cinema and art, have been making films and visual projects that have inspired many. With each in varying stages of their film career, we gained an understanding of the scope of what it really looks like trying to make movies in a climate that for very long, was working against you.
In the wake of protests and growing political literacy, Kenyan creatives are harnessing their power of creativity to push for systemic change and document the realities of the nationwide protests.
From Anguka Nayo to Daima, hear how a cross-generation of musicians has added their voices to the growing protests.
Curating a look, pulling a fit, and impressing the masses on the daily with your personal style is a feat not many are capable of taking on. But the artists and fashion folks we spoke to for this piece do it with ridiculous regularity.
From music, to photography, to visual artists, these people are using the power of the collective to share their stories and have impact on their local and even global communities.
The fourth edition of State of Fashion, under the theme “Ties that Bind”, brought together creative practices in fashion, textiles, and contemporary art from across the Global South. Curated by Louise Bennetts and Rachel Dedman in collaboration with Sunny Dolat, Kallol Datta, and Hanayrá Negreiros, this decentralized edition unfolds across Arnhem-Netherlands, Nairobi-Kenya, Bengaluru-India, and São Paulo-Brazil.
Goethe Institut’s The Jam concert held on Friday, April 19th, curated by TANGAZA Magazine, was a pulsating showcase of the dynamism of Kenya’s music scene.
WONDARLAND follows a young man named Baby Boy played by Frederick Sanga as he wanders through Dar es Salaam after abruptly being put out of his home. His escapades through the city blur the line between reality and fiction, bringing to life an array of curious characters that guide Baby Boy through his journey of becoming.
Sketch and stand-up comedy are the most popular forms of comedic performance in Kenya, often with an emphasis on slapstick and physical humour. Many Kenyan comedians have grown and gained great popularity in this arena over the last decade. But there’s a new crop of comedians and artists in the space who are changing the way audiences in Kenya think about comedy.
We explore a few of East Africa’s most interesting and dynamic fashion brands. These are brands that are moving the needle, and experimenting with fashion in big ways right in our backyard.
Nairobi Design Week is an annual festival that promotes the Kenyan design community, in collaboration with local and international partners. The annual festival gives citizens a chance to explore the scene, and participate in projects and conversations concerning their city by focusing on a theme, year after year.
Each year, the Ballantine’s True Music Fund awards 10 organizations are granted £10,000 to help sustain and enhance their essential work. The goal of the initiative is to support emerging local music-centric organisations and collectives as they strive for equality in music. Santuri East Africa is one of the recipients of the 2023 cycle of the grant, alongside nine other progressive organisations from across Africa, Brazil, and Spain.
At the tail end of 2020, three film lovers Jesse Mpango, Gertrude Malizana and Darragh Amelia came together to form the audio-visual collective Ajabu Ajabu. At first, the three would meet to watch independent African films on a big screen with friends. Eventually, the purpose was clear: to foster space for the preservation, production and presentation of audio-visual art.
It was Kalamashaka who together with Hardstone, Poxi Pressure and K-South became the mavericks that made it their own.
MVNSA is an exceptional talent causing waves in the East African ALTE music scene. Raised between Niger and Tanzania, the rapper and producer is driven by his passion for bridging the musical divide between East and West Africa, hence his dedication to creating music that resonates with audiences from both regions.
Joshua Baraka's highly anticipated remix of his chart-topping hit NANA arrived, bringing together the best talents from both the East and West of the Motherland. Collaborating with Ghana's King Promise, Nigeria's Joeboy, and Kenya's Bien, Baraka, a rising star from Uganda, showcases his prominence within the East African Alternative R&B scene—fusing it with elements of Afrobeats.
Nabalayo describes herself as a music-maker, illustrator and East African Griot, representing and documenting not only her own culture, but also those of her fellow countrymen.
The “Mizizi'' collection is an ideological experimentation in brand/consumer relationships. Peni Mbili has made a unisex design that challenges the everyday person to contemplate their own expression. In its construction it mimics the design of the familiar football jersey, but incorporates the collar of the closet staple polo shirt, two shapes that theoretically would be easy for any consumer to adapt to.
Ugandan singer Donald Otim, popularly known as MAUIMØON, is different. His sound is characterized by a distinctly laid-back vibe and smooth vocals. It is influenced by his East African roots and incorporates elements of R&B, Afro-pop, and Hip-hop from his multicultural experiences of growing up in Rwanda, Uganda, the UK, and Canada.
For nearly half a decade, Micheal Rumbi has been contributing continuous hits to the alternative scene with the sound he likes to call Indie-pop; using the sharpened resources of his laid-back and ethereal guitar compositions, his finely tuned beats as a producer and his lively and underrated bars as a rapper, all of which have mashed up into this sensual and distinct soothing sound he can call his own.
