Exhibition and Live Events: Jibambe na Tech. Festival, Nov. 16-30 2020 @ Online + Physical Locations

Dates: November 16-30, 2020
Medium: Online + Physical Locations

About
A Festival of Digital Media brought to you by the Alliance Française de Nairobi and the Goethe-Institut Nairobi, with the support of the French-German Cultural Cooperation Fund.

The online activities will bring together the international games and VR creator community from Kenya and East Africa with the aim of exploring new, creative, and innovative ways in gaming and game development.

Calls for Games demo and Hyper Talks open now for African developers only. The Hyper Talks will give 10 digital creators the opportunity to present their work in 5 minutes, be it games, animation, digital art, immersive experiences, virtual reality, or other playful media.

The Hyper Talks will be streamed live, and the Games exhibited in the A MAZE. / SPACE – a virtual multiplayer 3D game environment between 20th and 22nd November.

Final programme will be available here: https://jibambenatecfestival.space/

Cartoons and Comics in Kenya: Chronicles and Conversations, Nov. 22 2019 @ Goethe Institut

Date: November 22, 2019
Venue: Goethe Institut Nairobi
Time: 2-5 pm
Entry: Free

The Goethe Institut and Kymsnet, are once again bringing together cartoonists, scholars, media practitioners, consumers etc., in a symposium to interact and interrogate the book Ink & Pixels – the wild and wondrous tale of Kenyan comics.

The symposium will also celebrate the contributions that comics and & cartoons have made in the growth of the media space and holistic development agenda in the country.

The panelists include: Prof. Levi Obonyo, Dr. Peter Kimani, James Kamawira (Kham), Roseleen Nzioka, Paul Kelemba (Maddo) and Oby Obyerodhyambo.

Moderated by Dr. Mshai Mwongela.

Admission is free.

Listen: An Exhibition Introducing Sound of Nairobi, the City’s Sound Archive, Nov. 7-20 2019 @ Goethe Institut

Opening: November 7, 2019
Venue: Goethe Institut Nairobi
Time: 6 pm

Finissage: November 20, 2019

About
Sound is a medium which can you think about yourself in an environment. Listening consciously to sounds and noises places you in time and space and makes you aware of your surroundings. Sound is immediate and distance-less. Pressure waves move through space and penetrate everything in their way. The expanding nature of sound waves establishes a relational connection between sounding entities. These entities might be human, non-human, material or organic and they are never independent, they exist in a network of interrelations. Sounding bodies always have relations to their environment.

This opens up a way of thinking about sound as a medium that forces relations. Thinking through sound produces knowledge that is informed by context, process, “between-ness”, “interrelated-ness”. It has the ability to bring established power hierarchies into question.

In a series of workshops, City Walks worked by practically moving through spaces and listen actively.

The exhibition presents the results of this unique perspective on the city of Nairobi.

Concert: Women in Music Concert with Kendi Nkonge & Wambura Mitaru, May 17 2019 @ Goethe Institut

Date: May 17, 2019
Venue: Goethe Institut Nairobi
Time: 7 pm
Admission: KES 500/-

The Women in Music concert series is back. We have a great array of vibrant and dynamic artists lined for you this year, ready to give a stellar performance.
This edition will feature two great Kenyan artists, Kendi Nkonge & Wambura Mitaru, live in concert.

Exhibition: GZ Calling by Sam Hopkins and David Lalé, from Mar. 4 2019 @ Goethe Institut – Nairobi

Opening: Monday, March 4, 2019
Venue: Goethe Institut – Nairobi
Time: 6 pm
Entry: Free

The exhibition will be opened at 6 pm, followed by a conversation with Sam Hopkins at 7pm.

About
GZ CALLING The exhibition GZ Calling (2017) by artist Sam Hopkins and David Lalé approaches the tangled China-Africa relationship from the embedded perspective of a private investigator surveilling the export markets of Guangzhou.

Find more information, here.

Jazz Concert ft. Christine Kamau (Kenya), and Slatec (Germany), Feb. 20 2019 @ Goethe Institut Auditorium

Date: February 20, 2019
Venue: Goethe Institut, Nairobi
Time: from 7 pm
Tickets: KES 500/-

Kenyan Trumpeter Christine Kamau & German organic-improvised techno band SLATEC will perform at an exciting Jazz Concert hosted by Goethe-Institut Nairobi, Wednesday 20th February from 7 pm!

This concert is a result of the ‘Jazz from Germany Visitors Program’ that saw Christine Kamau join 16 jazz music industry players from 15 countries in touring the jazz scene in Berlin, Munich and Stuggart in July 2018.

Discussion: Afro-Futurism 2063, Nov. 1 2018 @ Goethe Institut – Auditorium

Date: November 1, 2018
Venue: Goethe Institut – Auditorium
Time: 6 pm

Join Tony Mochama, the author of the novel ‘2063 – Last Mile Bet’ in a discussion on the book’s legal themes: the outcomes of crime in a betting nation, automated legal systems in time to come, and the composition of state in a Post-Election War country.

Film Screening: Rafiki, Sept. 28-29 2018 @ Goethe Institut – Nairobi

Dates: September 28-29, 2018
Venue: Goethe Institut – Nairobi
Time: Friday, September 28, 2018 – 3 pm and Saturday, September 29, 2018 – 12 Noon
Entry: Free

Women In Music Concert Series ft. Emma Cheruto, Swiga and Linda, Jun. 6 2018 @ Goethe Institut Nairobi

Date: Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Venue: Goethe Institut Nairobi
Time: from7 pm
Entry: KES 500/-

Exhibition: Fragile by Wolfgang Tillmans, Apr. 11 – May 11 2018 @ the GoDown Arts Centre & Circle Art

Photo: Wolfgang Tillmans, Greifbar 29, 2014

Dates: April 11 – May 11, 2018
Venue(s): the GoDown Arts Centre & Circle Art

About
The work of Wolfgang Tillmans occupies a prominent position in the contemporary art world. Ever since his first exhibitions and publications in the early 1990s Tillmans’ artistic approaches have continually developed. He is constantly redefining photography both as an image and as a material artefact, be it in the museum space or as an object on the printed page. His work is based on his never-ceasing curiosity, his intensive research in preparation, and a constant testing and advancing of the medium and its technical and aesthetic potential. His visual language derives from precise observation that reveals a deeply human approach to the complexity of the world. Familiarity, empathy, friendship, and intimacy are all visible and tangible in his pictures.

Tillmans’ approach can be seen as an appeal for freedom and an invitation to meet the other fearlessly and with open-minded curiosity. For Tillmans, acceptance of the fragility that determines us as individuals and that plays into our relations with each other is not a weakness – it is a great strength. Mistakes, ruptures and fragility are frequently impulses that lead to the development of new processes. They indicate the imperfection of our lives and yet also open up surprising perspectives on their material nature.

Fragile provides a comprehensive overview of the many-facetted and different forms of artistic expression in the work of Wolfgang Tillmans, from large-scale prints to sculptural objects, video projections, and music, to his curatorial work in making the exhibition. This selection for this ifa-touring exhibition comprises more than 200 works from 1986 to 2017. It includes framed and unframed photographs in various formats, and also his table installation truth study center, video works and numerous publication projects. Like all of Wolfgang Tillmans’ exhibitions, each venue of the tour will use an installation that reacts to the specifics of the exhibition space and its architecture and environment.

#TillmansNairobi is an exhibition by Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa), in cooperation with Goethe-Institut Nairobi.

Exhibition Opening:
Wednesday, 11 April 2018, 6.30 PM, at the GoDown Arts Centre.

Opening Hours
12/04/2018 – 11/05/2018
MONDAY – FRIDAY: 10.00 AM – 5.00 PM
SATURDAY: 12.00 AM – 5.00 PM

at GoDown Arts Centre and Circle Art Gallery.

Admission is free!

Exhibition: Indulgence Curated by Violet Nantume & Nyambura M. Waruingi, Apr. 6-24 2018 @ Goethe Institut Nairobi

Opening: April 5, 2018
Venue: Goethe Institut Nairobi
Time: 6-9 pm

Until April 24, 2018

About
The exhibition Indulgence, curated by Violet Nantume and Nyambura M. Waruingi, is the third iteration in a series of conversations that had begun in 2015 and led to the exhibition Eroticism and Intimacy: Face, Places, and Paths at Under Ground Contemporary Art Space in Kampala in 2016. Now, Indulgence takes the artists and curators from Kenya and Uganda out of their comfort zones, building on our interpretations of genders, sexualities, and pleasures in their particular artistic expressions. It seeks to illuminate the relationship between art and its ability to interrogate, using local knowledges, and reflecting on issues affecting Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity (SOGI). Regionally and artistically diverse, the participating artists have been investigating genders, sexualities, and pleasures in their own locality drawing from their experiences to inform their artistic practice.

The exhibition will be broadened by several events: the exhibition opening on 5th April 2018, several walkabouts with the curator and an artist’s talk in conversation with Awuor Onyango on 19th April 2018. The exhibition will travel to Johannesburg, South Africa later this year, supported by !Kauru Contemporary Art From Africa.

Artist Talk:
19/04/2018, 7.00 PM

Opening Hours Exhibition:
06/04/2018 – 24/04/2018
Monday – Friday: 1.00 AM – 6.00 PM
Saturday: 10.00 AM – 3.00 PM

Admission is free!

Find more information, here.

Women in Music Concert Series ft. Labdi, Serro & Atemi, Mar. 21 2018 @ Goethe Institut – Nairobi

Date: March 21, 2018
Venue: Goethe Institut – Nairobi
Time: from 7 pm
Entry: KES 500/-

Kenyan-German Author Exchange: Nora Bossong & Yvonne Owuor, Mar. 16 2018 @ Goethe Institut – Nairobi

Date: March 16, 2018
Venue: Goethe Institut – Nairobi
Time: 6-8 pm
Entry: Free

Reading
Nora Bossong and Yvonne Owuor are both internationally acclaimed writers. Bossong’s works are available for in our e-library (free registration on our website: https://www.goethe.de/ins/ke/en/kul/bib/onl.html) while Owuor’s can be borrowed from our physical library.

Nora Bossong is a German writer. She was the 2001 Fellow of the first Wolfenbüttel literature laboratory. She studied literature at the German Institute for Literature, as well as cultural studies, philosophy and comparative literature at the Humboldt University of Berlin, the University of Potsdam, and the Sapienza University of Rome. Her poetry and prose have been published in individual newspapers, anthologies and literary journals. In 2006, she published her debut novel.
Nora Bossong lives in Berlin and has written several fact and fiction books and won several numerous awards.
Source: Wikipedia.

Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor is a Kenyan writer, who won the 2003 Caine Prize for African Writing for her story “Weight of Whispers”, which considers an aristocratic Rwandan refugee in Kenya. In 2004, she won the Woman of the year (Arts, Heritage category) for her contributions to the arts in Kenya. In September 2015, her critically acclaimed book Dust was not only shortlisted for the Folio Prize, but also won Kenya’s pre-eminent literary prize, the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature.

Born in Nairobi, Owuor studied English at Kenyatta University, before taking an MA in TV/Video development at Reading University. She obtained an MPhil, Creative Writing from the University of Queensland, Australia.
Source: Wikipedia.

Admission is free!

Find more information, here.

Discussion, Information Fair & Film Screening: On International Migrants Day, Dec. 18 2017 @ Goethe Institut – Nairobi

Through the Better Migration Management Programme, GIZ (the German Agency for International Cooperation) is planning an event in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration.

The aim of this event is to showcase opportunities for Kenyan youth to legally study and work abroad.

Date: December 18, 2017
Venue: Goethe Institute
Time: 2pm to 5:30 pm

The event consists of a panel discussion, an information fair and a film screening and is free of charge.

Also, register your assistance by filling in this survey (on Survey Monkey) about the event.

Discussion: Art Critic Forum – Art Writing, Oct. 28 2016 @ Goethe-Institut Nairobi

Date: Friday, October 28, 2016
Venue: Goethe-Institut Nairobi
Time: 6-8 PM
Admission: free

About
The Art Critic Forum’s 4th edition focuses on Art Writing.

A keynote will be presented by Thom Ogonga and a response by Millicent Muthoni. The session will be moderated by Dr. Mshai Mwangola.

Book Launch: UNsilenced by Rasna Warah, Oct. 26 2016 @ Goethe Institut Auditorium

Date: Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Venue: Goethe-Institut Nairobi
Time: 6-8 PM
Admission: free

About
Unmasking the United Nation’s Culture of Cover-ups, Corruption and Impunity. By Rasna Warah.

In a world experiencing increasing conflicts, terrorism and displacement, many people are wondering what the United Nations – the organisation established in 1945 to save future generations from the scourge of war – should do or could have done to prevent the disasters from escalating.

UNsilenced shows that contrary to expectation, the UN has remained a bystander in many of the conflicts and most peace-building efforts have failed miserably. UNsilenced describes how whistleblowers have been denied justice within the UN system and how the immunity accorded to UN officials, combined with other malpractices within the organisation, allows injustice to flourish.

The book will be discussed by John Githongo, Billy Kahora, Kwamchetsi Makokha and the author Rasna Warah.

Conversations with African Writers: Khainga O’Okwemba in Conversation with Hilda Twongyeirwe & Elizabeth Kabui, Oct. 21 2016 @ Goethe-Institut Nairobi

Date: Friday, October 21 2016
Venue: Goethe-Institut Nairobi
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Admission: free

About
In this session, Khainga O’Okwemba (President, PEN Kenya) will be in conversation with the founder of FEMRITE, Hilda Twongyeirwe and Kenya’s award-winning writer Elizabeth Kabui (winner of the Burt Award, 2014).

The Art Critic Forum: Focusing on Photography, Jul. 22 2016 @ Goethe Institut Auditorium

Dates: July 22, 2016
Venue: Goethe Institut Auditorium
Time: 6 pm
Entry: Free

About
The Art Critic Forum aims at supporting and enhancing the conversation about art in Kenya. At times where there is no formal arts education in public educational establishments, even artists sometimes struggle articulating their work.

The Art Critic Forum’s 3rd edition focuses on Photography and will feature three artists who are going to present their work to a panel consisting of local and international art critics.

Our selected panelists in the hot seat:
MIMI CHERONO NG’OK
JAMES MURIUKI
PAUL KARIUKI MUNENE

The panel will be moderated by Thom Ogonga. Admission is free!

Screening: 17th Edition of Lusophone Film Festival, Jul. 9 2016 @ Goethe Institut Auditorium

Date: July 9, 2016
Venue: Goethe Institut Auditorium
Time: from 5 pm
Entry: Free

About
The Lusophone Film Fest is an English-subtitled showcase of the diversity of film production in the 8 Portuguese-speaking countries spread across 4 continents. Recognised with international awards at film festivals around the globe, the cinema from the Portuguese-speaking world is still mostly unknown to the general public.

Exhibition: There Are Worlds Out There They Never Told You About, Jul. 8-26 2016 @ Goethe Institut

Opening date: 8th July 2016
Venue: Goethe Institut Nairobi
Admission: Free

Until: July 26, 2016

About
The exhibition ‘There Are Worlds Out There They Never Told You About’ by Jackie Karuti elaborately introduces the audience to her imagined worlds seemingly set in a galactic and underwater universe. It is a selection from Karuti’s latest work, an impressive collection of drawings, installations, videos, animations and text which depict evidence of other worlds in space, among the stars and perhaps even in the ocean.

There exists a myth about an underwater civilization descended from slaves thrown overboard during the middle passage from Africa to the Americas. Where do people who die away from ‘home’ go? What would it mean to migrate or run away to worlds that exist in our imagination? And if the present exists in a way that is not necessarily one in which you have agency, can you perhaps fly away to another time and space?

Discussion with Literary Prize Winners, Jun. 15 2016 @ Goethe-Institut Nairobi – Auditorium

Date and time: Wednesday, 15th June 2016, 6.00 pm
Venue: Goethe-Institut Nairobi, Auditorium
Admission: free

About
The Etisalat Prize for Literature is the first ever pan-African prize celebrating first time writers of published fiction books. On the panel: playwright and poet Fiston Mwanza Mujila from Democratic Republic of Congo, Etisalat Prize for Fiction winner 2015, and Kenyan writer Stanley Gazemba who is winner of the Jomo Kenyatta Prize and one of the Africa39 writers.

Moderated by Zukiswa Wanner.

Amka Literature Forum: Women in Fiction, May 28 2016 @ the Goethe Institut Library

Date: May 28, 2016
Venue: the Goethe Institut Library
Time: 10 am – 1 pm
Entry: Free

Screening: Lusophone Film Festival – Ninth Edition, Mar. 21 2015 @ Goethe-Institut Nairobi

Date: Saturday, 21st March 2015
Venue: Goethe-Institut Nairobi
Time: From 5 pm
Admission is free!

Screening movies from the Portuguese-speaking world:
– Alambamento (Angola, 2011, Mário Bastos)
– Arena (Portugal, 2009, João Salaviza)
– The Thorn of the Rose (Guinea-Bissau, 2013, Filipe Henriques)

Unsilence! Writers & Society: A Public Lecture by Shailja Patel, May 22 2013 @ Goethe Institut

Shailja Patel an acclaimed US-Based Kenyan Poet and Human Rights Activist

Introduction by Khainga O’Okwemba (President, PEN Kenya)

Panel: Prof Chris Wanjala,Prof Elizabeth Orchardson-Mazrui,Dr Tom Odhiambo,Dr Waveney Olembo,Eliphas Nyamogo,Tony Mochama.

Date: Thursday May 23, 2013
Venue: Goethe-Institut-Nairobi
Time: 5:00pm
Entry: Free

Shailja Patel at TED

This event is organized by PEN Kenya Centre and supported by the Goethe-Institut.