Bubblegum Club

Tag: films

  • Transdisciplinary conversations on the realities of urbanness // Dr Njoki Ngumi to take part in the African Mobilities’ Johannesburg Exchange

    Transdisciplinary conversations on the realities of urbanness // Dr Njoki Ngumi to take part in the African Mobilities’ Johannesburg Exchange

    Dr Njoki Ngumi wears many hats in roles that stretch across various fields. As a result the word she uses to describe herself is “maker”, emphasising that her work transcends genre and medium. Her background in healthcare has helped her to cultivate her curiosity and care for small details, and this has continued to be useful to her in the arts space.

    As a storyteller, she is currently obsessed with what can be obtained through collaboration and collective effort. “It’s been played to its tired cliché end on SO many mediocre TV programs, but truly? Groups of unlikely people achieving unlikely things is the whole entire wave. Nothing gimmicky – just mapping how people build bridges to each other and love and fight and love again, as they set large fires and take many names. I did an odd little thread once on Twitter that was about an elite cadre of femme/fem assassins, and a surprising number of people really loved it, and it was about just that – odd, fierce, unexpected togethernesses.”

    Her storytelling style is in constant evolution. She loves drama, distance and spectacle, but is also wary of how this can sometimes privilege the story over allowing audiences to engage. On the other hand, she also enjoys more intimate weavings that require the audience’s participation in some way, resulting in a new energy or story at the end. Through this reflection, Njoki tries to find the balance in her storytelling to invite audiences into the worlds she creates or mirrors.

    Another one of Njoki ‘s endeavors is her position as Head of Learning and Development at HEVA, an East African fund that invests in the transformative social and economic potential of the creative economy within the region. The development of HEVA Capital and HEVA Forum address the questions of how creative enterprises can get access to credit and how an enabling, progressive environment can be created for these businesses to grow. Within these two spaces, Njoki identifies knowledge gaps and interesting possibilities, and figures out ways in which creative enterprises can access them.

    Working across disciplines is an important part of how Njoki frames her practice. Therefore, co-founding the Nest Collective was a no-brainer. She did  this in collaboration with 11 other  members, namely Olivia Ambani, Hope Bii, Jim Chuchu, Sunny Dolat, George Gachara, Njeri Gitungo, Kendi Kamwambia, Noel Kasyoka, Akati Khasiani, Mars and Wakiuru Njuguna. As a collective they are “a making, building multidisciplinary arts squad based in Nairobi that drops cultural bombs and then wears overalls to sort through the debris.” The collective was formed in reaction to the fact that mainstream spaces did not have room for audiences who were craving an engagement with work that is risky, quirky and odd. Since its inception in 2012 the collective has made films, visual art, music, work in fashion and write books. Each member of the collective has their area of expertise, but together they have built a think tank and creative melting pot for themselves. Through their collective they explore modern identities, re-imagine their pasts and remix their futures. Connected to this is how they unpack what it means to be young, contemporary and urban, as well as the possibilities of casting away existing scripts and design new outcomes.

    Njoki has been invited to be one of the hosts for the Johannesburg Exchange under African Mobilities. This has an organic connection to the other projects and roles that she takes on. “AM [African Mobilities] is about transdisciplinary conversations, negotiating the vagaries and glories of urbanness and challenging realities with communities and collaboration, and this is already a huge part of the Nest’s – and my own – practice.” Her work fits so seamlessly into the agenda for the Johannesburg Exchange, and African Mobilities as a whole, that Njoki will be doing a public performance reading at the Exchange.

    Reflecting on the importance of African Mobilities and the Exchanges they have hosted in multiple cities, Njoki stated that, “One of the most magic things about it is its determination to break knowledge and data out of ivory towers and bring it out directly to the people. We’re at a time now when knowledge sharing is possible in new and unprecedented ways because of the internet, but in many ways guides and people to open out and explore and explain new things in new ways are still so essential. That’s what AM is building, together with prioritizing multiple African perspectives.”

    The Johannesburg Exchange is taking place from 22-24 February at Wits University and African Flavour Books in Braamfontein.

     

     

  • In Bloom // Not just another white cube exhibition

    In Bloom is Ja.’s first exhibition held at the KZNSA Gallery. The exhibition features 11 South African artists but what differentiates it from the traditional exhibition is that each featured artist’s work received a personalized backdrop. I spoke to the curators for the exhibition, Niamh Walsh-Vorster, Youlendree Appasamy and Dave Mann to find out more about the featured artists, their curatorial strategy for the exhibition as well as the work on display

    The team tells me that the exhibition came about after their launch of their free studio and workshop space within The Green Camp Gallery. After this launch, they joked about doing an exhibition that became a serious goal for them and was met with the generous sharing of space and resources provided by the KZNSA gallery. They continue to tell me that they decided to pursue the idea to have their first exhibition, as they wanted to move from an URL space to an irl space.

    Expressing that there is no overarching concept for the exhibition the team explains that the works featured celebrate a variety of art forms such as poetry, short stories, paintings, illustrations, films, photography, and graffiti. Having read the artists’ statements, however, I feel like there is a definite link to artists creating work that speak about topics such as sexism, identity as well as mental health.

    ‘Fantasma’ by Hannah Shone

    This is illustrated for example when looking at the artist’s statement by Nosipho Nxele where she explains her work ‘Shared Greatness’ as follows, “The greatest threat to women and by extension humanity is the growth and acceptance of male chauvinistic, illiberal and brutal culture of hawkishness. This system then requires that women raise up their voices to empower themselves and those without any voice to fight against society’s systems that belittle women. Meaning we are greater together than apart. My inspiration [for the piece] was drawn from the great saying of Pakistani activist for female education, Malala Yousafzai: ‘I raise up my voice – not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. We cannot succeed when half of us are held back’. The illustration embodies the spirit and passion of Mahala.” This statement speaks not only of sexism but feminine identity as well as solidarity among women.

    The team tell me that the title of the exhibition ‘In Bloom’ was chosen as the artists’ work in the exhibition represents an exploration and engagement with one’s identity. “Coming into bloom is a difficult act but the bloom itself is a beautiful thing. Even though some of the work unpacks uncomfortable themes it’s through the experiences of young artists who are finding imaginative ways of expression.” The title is also a reflection of the opening during spring, a time that flowers are in bloom.

    Artists for the exhibition were selected by medium and geographic region as an attempt to showcase work that was as far reaching as possible by means of concept and geographical location of the artists.

    ‘Blazers’ by Shalom Mushwana

    When asked about the curatorial strategy that was followed for this exhibition they explain that the exhibition features both written and visual work and expresses that finding a way to situate literature within a conventionally visual space was a fun challenge for them. They continue to explain that written works were incorporated in the form of postcards, small zines, a poem draped down a stairway entrance of the Mezzanine and film-based work created by the guest visual editor, Mandisa Buthelezi.

    Focussing on various points of entry and layouts for visual works they experimented with placement for the works that fell under this category. With the help of graffiti artist, Kev Sevin backdrops were painted for each artist’s work allowing them to come into their own as distinct clusters the team expresses. This strategy alone lends a different element to the ‘In Bloom’ exhibition and aids in tying the work rather seamlessly.

    The team express their hopes for ‘In Bloom’ as follows, “We hope that it contributes to the careers of the artists involved, as well as inspires more artists to create new work. And also, to show that it’s possible to pull off an exhibition on a shoestring budget that’s successful and engaging without the usual white cube nonsense.”

    ‘In Bloom’ opened on the 26 September ran up until the 15 October in the Mezzanine space at the KZNSA gallery in Durban. Featured artists included Robyn Perros, Hannah Shone, Nosipho Nxele, Shalom Mushwana, Dani O’Neill, Andy Mkosi, Maya Surya Pillay, Werner Goss-Ross, Kev Sevin and Julie Nxadi with a visual adaptation of ‘This is Not a Sad Story’.

    ‘Rat Dog’ and ‘Existential Zebra’ by Werner Goss-Ross