It’s experimental and experiential but most of all, I must say, it is healing. Kenyans are living in uneasy times, from the outside things seem okay, high rise buildings keep going up, new number plates keep being issued, supermarkets are still busy. But there is something in the air, something making people who lived through the Moi era and post election violence of 2007 uneasy. During such times, we must turn to the storytellers, the artists the griots, to remind us of where we have come from, what we have survived and where we can go…
Story Sosa reminds us of our brilliance:
Christine Mungai’s Parable of the Monkey juxtaposes the cheeky tree climbing apes that are a common sight around Nairobi with AI technology. Why is a caucasian face always the default when it comes to technology. As the use of AI becomes more mainstream, her story makes you think about ways in which people from the global south are constantly excluded from conversations that impact them.
Story Sosa reminded us of Home
Lutivini Majanja’s story delves into the history of her family’s blue table, an object whose presence represents much more than just place for the family to sit around and eat. It reminds us of the things and people that make up what we call home, how our memories from childhood shape our view and how as adults we find ourselves inexplicably attached to memories and places and how they once were.
Siku Za Mwizi ni Arobaini
A more sombre note but still a conversation that has to be had. Wanjeri Gakuru takes us into a journey of self reflection. Why is mob justice accepted as the norm in Kenyan culture and many other African countries. She looks at the history of lynching and how somehow the same methods use to oppress black people are now used by black people to mete out justice.
Story Sosa reminds us of Mama Onyango’s Hair
Paushinski is a scribe, photographer and creative whose tweets about his estate were my first interaction with him. Thoughtful, witty and heartfelt, Pau takes us along as he describes his mothers hair and the different styles she wore through the years. His is a Kenyan story we are all familiar with. Using life photography he brings the past into the present in a tangible way, that leave you smiling and cheering for Mama Onyango and her fabulous hairstyles.
100 years of Samosas
“I’m not crying, you’re crying”. Aleya Kassam’s story will make you cry, laugh and gasp. it reminded me of common threads that connect us as Kenyans.
Something as ubiquitous as a samosa holds even more meaning once you hear the story. An Indian snack that has found its way into every tuck shop and eatery in Nairobi, is also one family’s story of survival and resilience. And to make the story even sweeter, she gave everyone a taste of their amazing Wau Eats samosas, I’m afraid my tastebuds will never be the same.
